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Ask HN: What sort of startup talk is allowed at work?

4 points by gringomorcego ↗ HN
I was talking to some business friends of mine, and they were very dumbfounded about the claims that companies make about employee side projects.

To what degree am I allowed to focus on my startup at work? I never write code, but I do ask technical questions on freenode about setups and favorites ycombinator articles.

Am I being paranoid? I'm just worried, because I run a blog under the same nick (not this one), and any competent googler will show me asking questions at work pertinent to my startup.

Probably a stupid question, but I'd really appreciate any links/knowledge drops. I think I'm being paranoid, but I don't know.

5 comments

[ 3.8 ms ] story [ 27.9 ms ] thread
rmATinnovafy
To what degree am I allowed to focus on my startup at work?

You are being paid to help their business grow, not yours. Give it a little perspective. If your startup succeeded, would you want employees planning their own startups while you pay them?

AznHisoka
"Don't let your schooling interfere with your education"
staunch
Legally (though IANAL): create no IP, do no customer support, don't do any real "work".

Ethically: don't be abusive. You're being paid to do a job, so the standard work ethic applies. Some personal stuff is expected and reasonable.