An Easy Way to Protect Your Side Project and Your Day Job.
This simple company consent letter is a great start.
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Know The Rules
I recently made the leap from full-time employee to full-time startup founder. Like many of you, I was working on my startup during nights and weekends. When starting out, it is important to know that most modern employment contracts assign any IP you create (even if it is on your own time and equipment) to your employer. So you need to review your employment documents to understand the rules.
Be Transparent
Whatever your contract states, I think the best move is to always be open and transparent about your work. And getting a company consent letter is an easy way to start the process.
Deliver
It is a lot easier if you perform well and deliver in your day job. When I sat down with our CEO to discuss, I had built up enough trust and relationship capital that it was an easy discussion.
Start With a Simple Consent Letter
A letter similar to the examples below worked for me. Of course, I was fortunate to work at a very entrepreneurial company. Our company had grown through a number of acquisitions and had startup DNA. So when it came time to ask for support in exploring a new side-project opportunity, it was much easier than I expected. And I was grateful.
I have included an example company consent form below. Here come the disclaimers:
- I am not a lawyer
- I am not providing legal advice
- You should seek legal advice if you are concerned about your IP
- I’m providing this letter simply as an example of what worked as a starting point
Example Documents
I wish you all the best in your journey to full-time startup founder. And please let me know if you have any questions (aaron.aycock at gmail dot com). A lot of people helped me along the way and I’d love to share what I’ve learned.
