Article · 8 min read

Moonlighting a Side Project While Employed Full-Time: Here Are the Dos and Don'ts

Startup Grind Free Beginner

A tight, practical checklist for the still-employed co-founder before they write a line of code for you: read the employment agreement's invention-assignment and non-compete clauses first, get a written waiver where advisable, and build only on personal time and personal equipment so the day-job employer has no hook. It is the concrete hygiene that keeps a future acquirer's diligence from stalling on who really owns the early work.

• Read the invention-assignment clause before starting, because it can hand your co-founder's employer ownership of IP they build on the side
• Use only your own time, your own laptop, and none of the employer's confidential information, and never work on the side project on the employer's clock
• When the contract is ambiguous or a non-compete is in play, get a written waiver or release from the employer rather than assuming you are clear