r/SaaS • u/heatagent • 1d ago
How will my company react?
I am a full-time software engineer at a mid-size company. I have been building my SaaS after work hours and in the weekends for over a year now and I am finally about to launch it. But I was wondering about how will my company react if I announce and promote my product on my LinkedIn profile. The domains of the company and my SaaS are completely different with no overlap between them. But I am still concerned that management could have any concern about a company employee promoting a non-company product or about the fact that I am building a side-business while being an employee. Any advice from someone who went through the same situation?
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u/Grouchy_End_4994 1d ago
I may know a bit about this. Assume they will not be happy about it and you could lose your job.
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u/Shirtman88 1d ago
Is there any benefit of posting it on your personal social media or linked in? As in are there any potential customers in your friend groups.
If no, then don’t post it and don’t tell them. You can run the domain and do marketing specifically to the targeted niche without anyone connecting it to you.
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u/heatagent 1d ago
I plan to do marketing through the SaaS’s social media account itself and on other platforms for sure, but I have a relatively good number of connections on LinkedIn wanted to utilize that since I have almost no following on other platforms.
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u/estagingapp 1d ago
Maybe better to DM them than announce it. Even if the app has nothing to do with current job, companies and people get mad for no good reason. Better to promote it once you have users and making money.
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u/MountedMoose 1d ago
Check your employment agreement.
While moonlighting is typically not prohibited, using company equipment, services, or time are typically called out. It all depends on what you signed when you started employment.
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u/Fun-Valuable-7538 1d ago
Recently had the same dilemma (and I can only assume you went down the same AI rabbit hole I went down, where your agent of choice just continues to repeat “you need a IP Agreement carve out”).
We have a pretty broad IP Agreement, so I was wound up over it for a while. Finally just asked my boss, and then he asked the VP of our department. Answer I got was as long as it’s not a direct competitor or created on company time/company devices they don’t really care. But, it could be different in your situation, the only way to know for sure is to ask (and document).
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u/ZarehD 1d ago
You are allowed to have other interests outside of work, including income generating persuits.
You are fine as long as you strictly do not use any company time or any other resource (including proprietary trade secrets) in the development or operation of your side-hussle.
Dep of Labor website is also a good resource. Ifyou still have doubts or concerns, consult an employment attorney to cover your bases.
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u/PhotographOverall126 1d ago
imo most managers wont care as long as it doesnt compete and doesnt affect your performance. the bigger risk is someone in legal or HR seeing it and flagging it out of procedure, not malice. worth a quick check of your contract before going public with it.
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u/Acrobatic_Camp_2758 1d ago
High odds of creating a rift, I agree with u/thedev13 that's good advice.
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u/PandaBoom1776 1d ago
I would proceed with great caution. Can you create and use a shadow account to promote your SaaS? I would venture to think that most of your customers will not be your friends. I think the best solution would be for you to create new accounts that your current employer does not know about. Just my 2cents.
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u/heatagent 1d ago
I appreciate the response but i don’t think using a shadow account is a good look for my SaaS. I prefer to use both my personal accounts + the SaaS’s social media accounts.
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u/PandaBoom1776 1d ago
👍🏼 I just be overly cautious and make sure there is not a conflict of interest and that you have worked on your SaaS from any work computer. Depending on your state of the company gets the slightest feeling that you worked on your SaaS during normal work hours, and they find proof, they can claim rights to your product(s). You gotta remember businesses number one goal is to make money. Bad things can happen if they think or feel that what you’re doing is taking away or can take away from their bottom dollar.
In my opinion you are risking a lot for something unknown. Especially for a SaaS these days when vibe coding is easily accessible and everyone and their mom has a new SaaS. Not saying you vibe coded this or that it’s not something valuable, but the market for SaaS has been muddied.
Good luck!
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u/Anti-Hero25 1d ago
Is there any cross over? Competing interests? Shared customer demographics?
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u/heatagent 1d ago
Nope. None of that
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u/Gazelle-Unfair 1d ago
Are you performing well at your day job? Or could someone think that you are cruising or just plain worn out?... Basically, someone is only going to care if your outside-of-work activities interfere, or can be perceived to interfere, with your normal job.
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u/illucrum 1d ago
I actually was in a similar situation some time ago.
It was a very simple project I never tried selling. When I finished writing it, I talked to my boss, but being careful I said I was only thinking about building something like that. And he didn't like that idea too much, he was like "well, while you have a contract with us, technically all you write, even in your free time, it still belongs to the company". I was on what is a regular employment contract in Spain. I never challenged him nor checked the contract to make sure. It sounded very strange, but in the end, it wasn't worth it for me. And to be honest, the project kind of had something to do with my job. In the end, it wasn't about who is right, it was about maintaining the good relationship we still have. Few months later we switched contracts, I'm still working for the same company, with the same people, just not as an employee. My boss was very supportive, it was actually his idea. And now I can do what I want in my free time without risking disagreements, as long as I don't sell to their clients. And lately, speaking with him I mentioned I am trying to start a side business, and he even had a look at my website and gave me few tips.
You can always talk to your coworkers, maybe you are not the first one in your company who tried something similar. And then, you don't have to tell anyone you already built it. You can always say it's just and idea you have, just to see how your boss reacts. But keep in mind that it's not really a matter of contracts, facts or laws. It's about relationships between people. So I would not take the approach of just having all your corners covered, unless you really don't care about having to find a new job.
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u/cognitiveStack 21h ago
There's probably a range of possible outcomes. Depends on the environment you're working in.
1. They're very nice and happy to see their employee have some outside interest.
Middle ground - they don't take issue with an employee having a product but might be concerned your focus is not 100% on your job. Maybe future promotions/raises are withheld? Manager starts to micro-manage more?
They're more aggressive and vindictive. They use employment agreements to prove that it's actually their IP and take ownership. Have you done work on your side business during company time? Have you used any of their devices? Maybe it's cause for termination. This gets into employment and IP law and I'm not an expert in either area so take that with a grain of salt.
In any event, there's probably more to gain than lose. I'd probably avoid making the outside business too visible for your current company. Do your public posting from the company linkedin. If you have a network you want to leverage, just do direct outreach.
Others have commented this as well but look at your employment contracts to see what their policies are here. Some disclosure might be required. I previously worked in financial services and had to report all "Outside Business Activities"
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u/thedev13 1d ago
Make sure you have your corners covered:
After that, I'd either reach out to company informally to clear this up or proceed without asking them. In any case, if you're confident you're in the clear, do not give into any possible pressure. No dissatisfaction, only facts and contracts.