Is it a good idea to start a company that competes with the one I currently work
I’ve been working at a SaaS marketing startup for almost 3 years. The company is still under $300k ARR. I’ve been deeply involved in building the product and successfully selling it. I see significant growth potential and believe I can scale it much faster, but the founder doesn’t support my ideas. I joined when the team had 5 members, and now we’re at 25, yet I’m still an employee without ESOPs, and the founder seems unwilling to offer any. Should I consider leaving to start my own company in the same domain?
25 people on the team, and under $300K ARR? That sounds completely unsustainable without either more growth or a much smaller team, so staying there definitely sounds dicey.
That being said, ask your attorney about non-competes and IP before making any moves. If you do your own thing, draw extremely clear lines to be sure you started from scratch and took nothing from your current company. No code, no docs, no contact info for customers, nothing.
I would also suggest to not start anything right away. When I've been in situations where I thought I could do more with a product than the current team, and then spent 6 months away from it to clear my mind and look at bigger pictures... I have yet to actually want to go back to a prior problem space. More often, I just close the chapter and find something new. In short, be wary about following what you happen to be doing today vs. what you truly care about.
It’s nearly guaranteed that this new idea fails as bad as the one they’re working at now. Why spend $500 to be told “don’t do it” which is basically what a lawyer is going to tell you if you give them only $500.
If somehow against all odds, this person’s implementation becomes a seriously successful business, they’ll figure it out then.
Maybe, but probably not. Without additional information, this sounds like a bad niche. I've seen many SaaS businesses that looked good on paper, but, in reality, required too much investment in sales and marketing to build a sustainable business.
counter-brotip: 'they' will figure out that you are doing that thing on the side/against them. You will post it on LinkedIn, you will advertise, tell your cousin that will tell his gf that will tell his uncle that will tell..(you get my drift)
And if the "previous company" will find ONE SINGLE THING that looks like the thing that you/someone did in the "previous company", they can sue the s..t out of you. Enough to ruin you financially and ruin your reputation as "this is a thief/backstabber, also now that we think about it he did X Y and Z to sabotage us while he was stealing our code/ideas/etc."
Around 2005 my side-gig was setting up call centres (small business, under 10 people, and I would set up their call centre, program their devices, etc.). One of my clients had the great idea (selling lifesaving equipment for ships) to steal the client list from his "previous company", and started sniping clients. One day he asked me to help him set up "internet and email monitoring tools" because he was afraid some of his new staff were rats from the "previous company". I walked out then and there because laws & reputation (setting up a call centre is very different from spying on your staff - back there things were a bit legally-vague). Guess what happened to him ;)
(rat - yes, he hired 'a friend' from the "previous company" that ratted him out To the "previous company")("previous company" sued him out of existence)(he had to change line of work because his name was tarnished in the industry)
That being said, ask your attorney about non-competes and IP before making any moves. If you do your own thing, draw extremely clear lines to be sure you started from scratch and took nothing from your current company. No code, no docs, no contact info for customers, nothing.
I would also suggest to not start anything right away. When I've been in situations where I thought I could do more with a product than the current team, and then spent 6 months away from it to clear my mind and look at bigger pictures... I have yet to actually want to go back to a prior problem space. More often, I just close the chapter and find something new. In short, be wary about following what you happen to be doing today vs. what you truly care about.
It’s nearly guaranteed that this new idea fails as bad as the one they’re working at now. Why spend $500 to be told “don’t do it” which is basically what a lawyer is going to tell you if you give them only $500.
If somehow against all odds, this person’s implementation becomes a seriously successful business, they’ll figure it out then.
And if the "previous company" will find ONE SINGLE THING that looks like the thing that you/someone did in the "previous company", they can sue the s..t out of you. Enough to ruin you financially and ruin your reputation as "this is a thief/backstabber, also now that we think about it he did X Y and Z to sabotage us while he was stealing our code/ideas/etc."
Around 2005 my side-gig was setting up call centres (small business, under 10 people, and I would set up their call centre, program their devices, etc.). One of my clients had the great idea (selling lifesaving equipment for ships) to steal the client list from his "previous company", and started sniping clients. One day he asked me to help him set up "internet and email monitoring tools" because he was afraid some of his new staff were rats from the "previous company". I walked out then and there because laws & reputation (setting up a call centre is very different from spying on your staff - back there things were a bit legally-vague). Guess what happened to him ;)
(rat - yes, he hired 'a friend' from the "previous company" that ratted him out To the "previous company")("previous company" sued him out of existence)(he had to change line of work because his name was tarnished in the industry)