Without fail, when I mention that I’m a startup technology lawyer at an event with startup-folks, someone nearly always approaches me and asks, “So I work at [Insert Company Name here], but I’ve got this project or idea I’ve been working on. I’d really like to leave at some point and do that full-time, but I need my job at [Insert Company Name here] to pay the bills for now. How can I do both?“
It is a great question and one that people really should be thinking about. Many very successful companies were spun from side-projects or part-time development work in a basement or garage. One of my favorite stories is about the founder of del.i.cious, that I write about in my book:
Joshua Schachter started his collaborative bookmarking website del.icio.us in 2003 as a personal project simply to allow him (and a few friends
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:41 am
Thanks for the great tips.
I’d like to add one more tip — You can eliminate the fear of getting sued and possibly even open doors by telling your employer about your side project.