Ask HN: Can I work as Fb product manager and build my startup at the same time?

1 points by khmel 13 years ago | 2 comments

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

I have question about conflict of interests. I'm working with my team for last 8 months on social payment service - we're developing technology that will monetize social graph, particularly Facebook pages for closed beta. We target US market.

Unfortunately, we're out of the cash. I have to take some job in order to continue startup.

Which company\role is the most useful and safe to work for taking into account startup business model, experience and cash maximization?

I consider the following options:

1. Product manager in Facebook, Paypal or Google Payments + this is exactly what I'm doing now with my company + this are good brands and position that will attract investors to fund my team in the future - Facebook, Paypal, Google are potential startup acquirers, probably they will not permit to continue working on startup at the same time - not sure that cash compensation will be high enough -/+ what will happen with patent that I filed (social network & content monetization tool), will I still own it?

2. Business development \strategic position at Facebook, Paypal or Google + likely, higher cash + employer brand is relevant for startup - non-product position that will not add too much value to my profile from investors point of view +/- lower conflict of interest: startup vs. employer

3. Investment \ hedge fund professional in Europe + high cash + no conflict of interest: startup vs. employer - employer brand is non-relevant for startup - non-product position that will not add value from US investors point of view - far from our US target market + potential non-US investors

brk 13 years ago |

Your question is lacking a lot of additional detail that would make it easier to make a suggestion.

My first question is, why do you think you're going to just "walk in" to a job at these companies? It would seem that if you can just get a job at the companies you listed you should also have sufficient connections to raise some money for your startup on agreeable terms.

So, I'm not sure that your options as listed are realistic.

Regarding any patent you've filed on work that you've already done, these should be no issue to any new employer. You would want to ensure they are aware of this beforehand to make sure any patent-grant clauses in an employment agreement have proper exceptions, just to eliminate potential future confusion.

khmel 13 years ago |

nobody is an expert?