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Ask HN: Startup co-founder doing consulting on the side, IP issues

3 points by obelix ↗ HN
Hi

I co-founded a startup last year and things are slowly picking up. However, I need to bring in some money, so I started looking for contract jobs.

I found a position, but I find the domain was too similar and the NDA I had to sign was too restrictive. I am worried about IP infringement issues if I take this contract?

I am trying to get in touch with an employment attorney to ask for their opinion.

Are there any rules of thumb / guidelines to be followed in a situation like this? What do startup founders do if they want to consult? I am sure someone in this forum has done it. What did you do to protect yourself legally?

Thanks in advance.

4 comments

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jhancock
Here's what I did: Write your exclusions in the NDA or contract agreement. Be clear about what your doing with them. If your not a real competitor to them, they should go along with it. Negotiate this with the person needing your work, not their legal or HR people.

I did contract work as chief architect for Fortune 100 companies while I was building up assets for my startup in the 90s. My work for these megacorps including my building and licensing them some of those assets with the understanding that I could continue using the IP on my own. I never had a problem.

obelix
jhancock - thanks a lot for your suggestion. That is what I am trying to do as well.
ScottWhigham
Personally I find it very odd that you ask this here instead of simply doing what I think is the logical thing and asking your co-founders what they think is appropriate/inappropriate. This is just weird to me. They should know that you are not making enough money and so this should be a collective decision. This is weird.
obelix
Scott

You are assuming that I haven't talked to my co-founders. Seeing how I was struggling with my financial issues, my CEO was the person who suggested that I go look for consulting positions to keep myself happy and motivated to continue with the startup. fwiw, I have worked with this team for the better part of 9 years now - I wouldn't do anything to harm them. We are way more than colleagues at this point in time of our lives.