The Startup Side Project Bubble

A major reason that people do only what's required to get by in their "day job" and tool away on startups is that the promotion is dead. You don't advance in the workplace by any means except changing jobs or doing your own thing. Companies don't promote on merit anymore. So if you pour your heart into your job, you get nothing for it. You're better off pouring your heart into side projects-- even if they don't turn into actual businesses, they act as portfolio projects that might help you to make that next hop between jobs with an accompanying raise.<p>The MBAs have made this bed via all this "money doesn't really motivate people, here's how to hack motivation..." BS, and now they have to lie in it. If they want employees' full attention, they have to compensate it. People have to have a stake-- either stock or the <i>real</i> possibility of a <i>meaningful</i> promotion. You get what you pay for.

I'm sorry, but this whole article is based on a completely unfounded premise - that being the premise that you're not "committed" to your startup unless you've quit your dayjob and are working on the startup fulltime. But there's no basis for asserting that, and it is - quite simply - not true.<p>It's not "shooting yourself in the foot" to work on a startup while working a dayjob, it's called "funding your startup with your dayjob salary". And if you don't have a pile of capital just lying around waiting to be spent, or aren't (interested in|willing to|able to) raise outside capital, it's essentially your only choice.<p>And why exactly should I care about "stringing along my present employer"? I show up, do the work I'm asked to do, and they pay me some amount in return. What I do on my time is my business.. If my performance drops, they are welcome to fire me. If anything, this should be seen as a call for employers to recognize their entrepreneurial minded employees and find a way to leverage their talent to do something entrepreneurial <i>within</i> that firm. Better yet, invest in the employees startup and tell them to get out and work on it fulltime. Now that's a win-win for everybody.<p>But don't think you get to call who is or isn't a "real entrepreneur" based on who has or hasn't quit their dayjob. If anything, the folks doing it "the hard way" deserve more respect and recognition than the people running around acting like raising a round was an end unto itself, and who seem to think that the point of a startup is to raise money (as opposed to making money).

Of all the things that can be called to be in a bubble, I think this one is the most ridiculous one. What does it even mean to call it a side project bubble? Is it going to burst at some point, I <i>really</i> hope not.<p>Even if we agree that a lot more people are working on side projects, instead of calling it a bubble, which has negative connotation, what we should be looking at the positive side that more and more people are taking the first step and recognizing that they don't necessarily have to just keep working for an employer and are at least trying to create something of their own. The tools and technology have become more accessible, be it cloud or even 3D printing, and will become more accessible in future which will motivate even more people. The whole Maker scene is another such. People used to have different hobbies, now a lot of that energy is channeled into side projects.<p>We should be celebrating this, rather than call it a bubble.

I disagree with most of the points.<p>1. People usually start a side project because they are unhappy at work. If they are unhappy, they are unlikely already giving their best<p>2. On another note, a side project often gives your a great deal of satisfaction, accomplishment, control and responsibilities that you wouldn't get in your daily job. This balances your morale and will make you perform better both at your daily job and at your side project<p>3. I worked on a number of side projects in the past. Some successful, some not. But in ALL of them the learning was priceless. I didn't start side projects because I wanted to start a business and go all-in. I did start them because I wanted to learn things that spaced beyond my daily tasks at work. And it worked brilliantly.<p>Also, if you've a mortgage to pay and a family to maintain, you have some responsibilities that make the "go all in" move quite a big risk. And I do believe it is possible to start a business starting as a side project first - it just takes much more time and energy and, most of all, patience.

I can't agree with any of this article.<p>&#62;&#62; It’s a problem because side projects create a talent bubble of people who aren’t fully engaged and are just doing enough at their "real" or full-time job to get by until their startup is up and running. This means their productivity suffers at their full-time job, an expense the employer ends up paying. The side project owners justify it by assuming it will only be for a short period of time.<p>Here's a surprising fact: almost no one is "fully engaged" at work. They're thinking about camping or football or shopping. We don't owe our employers anything but our time and productivity. At least if my coworker is working on a side project I know she's learning things that will make her better at her job.<p>&#62;&#62; And actually, we need to be honest. Not everyone is an entrepreneur. Part of being one is accepting the risk of starting your own company and taking the leap to be committed full time. It’s not good for startups or for companies to have employees that are partially engaged in both and committed to neither.<p>Because side projects never succeed and full time startups never fail. (Dell, Craigslist, Bingo Card Creator, Twitter, and Facebook.)<p>&#62;&#62; Here’s a quick tip: there are plenty of those already. If you do want to start a company, work on building a real business, not a side idea that’s hoping to be the next Twitter/Facebook/Instagram combination or a better version of Basecamp.<p>Says the guy whose companies include another Survey Monkey and yet another credit card payment app. (Note: Chargify is a good product, but it's in a crowded market.) Plus, Basecamp is nice, but it's not ideal for all kinds of projects. I'd be very happy if somebody made a new Basecamp that did a better job with software projects.

&#62; "It’s a problem because side projects create a talent bubble of people who aren’t fully engaged and are just doing enough at their “real” or full-time job"<p>I'm sorry, but where was the part in my employment contract where I was required to live and breathe work every minute of my life?<p>If you're an employee with no stocks or shares, then doing "just enough" of your job is exactly what you're being paid to do. Do more if you like, but going the extra mile isn't a requirement.<p>Also, some people enjoy working on side projects because they're <i>fun</i>, and not because they dream of being an entrepreneur.<p>(Edit: formatting)

I don't understand this article in the least. The idea that people shouldn't be doing things they want to do on their own time, that you'd rather say "be honest, not everyone is an entrepreneur," than let people explore their potential themselves.. the whole thing is offensive and depressing.<p>For a lot of my friends, side projects are the only thing keeping their passion for programming alive. You say below "If you're not happy with your job, just quit," as if it's easy for people to up and leave the position they're in. Not everyone lives in a tech hotspot and not everyone actually wants to or can just up and leave their roles. A lot of these side projects are explicitly being worked on so that they can get more up-to-speed with certain technologies with the intent to apply for something more satisfying to begin with. And if there wasn't value in side projects, companies wouldn't have any reason to "own" what you work on outside of your 9-5.<p>If you're not getting value from your employee because they're distracted or they don't have the faith or enthusiasm they used to, that's on you to sit them down and talk to them about it and maybe figure out a way to compromise; telling someone they can't spend time on their hobbies anymore is a petty response that doesn't look at the real issue at hand. Perhaps the problem really lies in your camp, not theirs. If you're so concerned your developers are going to up and leave to work on their own dream, you need to incentivize them more. Or, you know, get over it and realize that's business and people have other ambitions outside of your own and there's no reason that they should have to stick around to fulfill them, especially if this is the attitude you have towards the types of things that keep them motivated. If you're really concerned about not being able to create your product because your devs are going to bail to do what they ultimately want to do in their life, perhaps you should become one yourself instead of telling them how they can and cannot live their lives outside of your payroll.

"This means their productivity suffers at their full-time job, an expense the employer ends up paying."<p>Incorrect. My side projects have made me a better developer in every way, which actually saves my employers money over the long-term. I learn new techniques, skills, and tools off-the-clock. The kind of training that used to be the responsibility of the employer is now on the employee.

This article is awfully preachy for just being a flimsy tower of assumptions. It sort of seems like a way to draw an arbitrary line that frames the author as a real entrepreneur frustrated by floating in a sea of posers.

This really ruffles my feathers as well:<p><i>Unless there are real consequences for failure—until you’ve personally guaranteed a line of credit and tried to sell your product to an actual human being,’ says Ruhe, you won’t have the motivation needed to build a business that matters</i> -- Thom Ruhe, VP of Entrepreneurship at the Kauffman Foundation<p>Now, I don't know who Thom Ruhe is, and I don't really care. But what I know is that this armchair quarterback with his fancy title, working for some foundation somewhere, knows bloody fucking bugger-all about my motivation, or lack thereof. You want to talk to me about motivation, dude? Quit your job at the Kauffman Foundation and come work with us. We offer no pay, no benefits (not even free coffee), long hours, sleepless nights, stress beyond belief, non-stop fear of failure, and an equity stake that could make you really wealthy if we succeed. Would you be motivated to take that swap, in order to gain the satisfaction of doing your own thing, the freedom of not having a "boss" and the sense of accomplishment that goes into building something? No? Well, guess what... we are. So unless you want to take me up on my offer, don't fucking talk to me about motivation.

In my experience the people who have side start ups are the ones who are twice as productive at work. Most people don't give a shit about their jobs.

I'm disappointed that instead of trying to educate new entrepreneurs, the OP is discouraging them. The tone is incredibly condescending.<p>It's like he just heard of bootstrappers, and instead of saying, "Hey that's awesome, let me tell you what I've learned," he says "You'll never be one of us real entrepreneurs. Want a job?"

Side projects are a great way to improve your knowledge of a language or learn a new language. Creating a number of side projects, most of them fit under this category. Each project has furthered my knowledge of a language, framework, or best practices.<p>From my experience, developing a project (regardless of scale) is a better form of learning than reading about it. You get instant gratification when you see your project render/compile without error. You're learning in real time, seeing your project work, and learning from trial and error.<p>Having a side project doesn't imply you're trying to create a startup. What happened to just creating for fun/enjoyment? Reconstruct your sandbox and play.

There are several companies that started off as side projects across an array of industries: apple, spanx, and buffer for example.<p>The diluted talent pool is not because of part-time entreprenuers. Based on your logic, they wouldn't leave their job anyway. It's because of over funded full-time entreprenuers.<p>And since you mentioned basecamp, here's what employee #1 of 37 Signals thinks of the topic: <a href="http://37signals.com/svn/posts/1764-the-natural-evolution-from-side-project-to-full-time-business" rel="nofollow">http://37signals.com/svn/posts/1764-the-natural-evolution-fr...</a>

The article didn't make it clear how a side-project is any different than other of life's projects and distractions: family, sports, that home remodeling project.<p>If an employee's productivity at their day job is not acceptable, then hopefully the employee no longer has a job there.

This article is a little bit one sided. So what if most side projects never succeed? You can always learn a lot by attempting to do a large scale project yourself. Most real-life projects are large scale legacy projects that you are simply thrown into. Most likely you don't even care about them nor you can make any sort of decisions.<p>By doing side projects you are being creative. You learn new stuff. You actually care about your project. You also have to do everything yourself, including planning. Where else would you get such experience?<p>And the net result is that you learn new stuff in your side projects, something your employer gets for free. Your passion will pay off, eventually. It is nearsighted to assume that just because you "waste" time on side projects you are hurting you employer.<p>You hurt them more by simply not caring enough about the technology nor the project.

I agree with the article to some extent, however I do feel like a lot of people find if they don't have something to tinker with on the side get incredibly bored. I know I like many others need variety in the types of stimuli I find in my work/development/entrepreneurial pursuits and I think this is perfectly healthy.<p>Once you start stringing along your employer, just pushing buttons and not giving them some of your best work hours - then yes I agree it is frustrating, but I don't believe this is the case with the majority of engineers/others who work on side projects. Surely people doing this are the minority and can receive stern talks and/or let go if they are really not worth their salary?

With all this talk about bubbles I'm starting to think there is a bubble bubble :P

Your blog post is really lousy overall. I can't believe you thought it would be a good idea to not only vent your thoughts on your personal blog, but then share that post on this forum, which is filled with the very people you critique. Your arguments are flat out wrong for claiming that side projects are a "problem". Besides the lousy points offered, the article came off as whiny. I suspect that the people you work with would be embarrassed to read it. I would be.<p>Other people have already made great comments here. I just wanted to point out that side projects are how people learn new things and new technologies. Most side projects are never finished, nor do they make it to market. However, the process of working on the project was in itself beneficial as a learning tool. New technologies and new techniques get explored and tested, all during off hours. And guess who benefits from that?<p>Employers could consider these options ... - hire people that find the day time work to be interesting enough (i.e. don't hire superstars thinking they will bring sparkle to boring work) - provide good incentives to keep people focused on their day job - openly support side projects, people will respect that and give back to you (don't make people stress about working on a side project) - get involved with side projects and offer whatever you can to help - partner with people in their ventures, their idea may be better than yours - directly sponsor internal side projects that people can work on and vent their need to create/explore etc.

When this bubble bursts, namecheap.com is going to lose out on all sorts of $10.99 renewals in 2 years. It's gonna get ugly.

One of my favorite interview questions for developer candidates is, "tell me about your side projects" because I know that the people who really love software development are doing something on the side. Side projects, whether intended to be "the next big thing" or not, are extremely valuable for developers and employers.

<i>The worst part is that a lot of the side projects end up being another attempt at the next social network or a new project management app. Here’s a quick tip: there are plenty of those already. If you do want to start a company, work on building a real business, not a side idea that’s hoping to be the next Twitter/Facebook/Instagram combination or a better version of Basecamp.</i><p>This is true of full-fledged, VC-backed, "startups". (The author seems to delineate between "startups" and side-projects as if the latter weren't real - by this logic, PlanScope and Bingo Card Creator aren't real projects)

It is perfectly valid and beneficial to have side projects.<p>First, it lets you experiment with new technologies and frameworks outside of your regular duties. (This can pay dividends to the employer)<p>Second, it can keep you from code burn out by giving you a creative release. (Also a benefit to the employer)<p>Third, it gives you freedom to experiment with smaller projects that might not be enough to support a person but create value for someone none-the-less.<p>Finally, one of those side projects might get traction and create a sustainable business.<p>Not everyone has the freedom to throw caution into the wind. And oftentimes, even if they do, it is not the best move.

If there is a start up bubble wouldn't that insinuate it's going to burst at some time? What would the burst consist of? The mass realization that I shouldn't do side projects anymore? I agree with the premise of the article, a side project can distract from 9-5 work, but there is no "bubble"

Jeez... the word 'bubble' seems to be thrown around every other day now.

Reading through these comments, I think most people either a) missed the point or b) are angry because he touched a nerve.<p>Here's my take on it, if you are "working on a side project" + "calling it a hobby" there's no problem with that. If however, you are "working on a side project" + "calling it your start up" there's a good chance you are deluding yourself. Sure... some of you will succeed but less than 1% of you will.<p>If you want to succeed you need to be fully engaged, you need to be focused and it even helps if there's a strong incentive to succeed like running out of money and being homeless. If you have the comfort and safety of job income, there's a good chance you will slack off because you have "time", you are exhausted from a stressful day at work, your job is running you down so much that you need to relax, you need to buy something to cheer yourself up etc. Also you run the risk that your side project has gotten boring and you want to chase the new "hotness". Of course some of you will feel hip and cool claiming that you are pivoting.<p>How do I know this? I tried working on side (business) projects as an employee for over 10 years, it just doesn't work. I'm 6 months into developing my product full time, I'm about halfway done. If I had attempted to do this as an employee it would have taken 6 years. That's if I could even stay focused and motivated that long making such slow progress. I know for me that I would have just given up.<p>As for a bubble, it is a bubble because people are talking about their hobby side projects as if they are legitimate businesses that will take off "some day". A couple will, most will not. The froth is from all the people who will never be anything but an employee getting lots of mileage and good vibes from talking about their supposed business. So much so that they will work even less on the "business" because they have already gotten the positive boost they were looking for and can continue scraping along in their job. This is bad because these people will never push themselves in a way that will actually let them be successful and leave the job that they hate; they are too afraid of quitting because they can't stand the thought of not having a comfortable income.<p>Want to make it happen, then do what I did. Quit your job, you will find ways to make money. I picked up a side consulting gig where I made 3 times the money I would have ever made in a "job". This opportunity never, ever would have occurred if I was an employee. My desire not to work allowed me to state a very high rate that they accepted, as an employee I would have been so grateful to get side work I would have worked for much less. I saved enough money to live on for 2 years and quit the consulting gig.<p>Next pay off everything, student loan, credit cards, car loan. Sell most of what you have and rent a room in a house, cut your expenses down to the bone. Get rid of your TV and other distractions. Live, eat and breathe your start-up, when you need a break go for walks, bike rides and go see your friends.<p>Any of you stuck with a house? I am too, however I moved out and have been renting it out for the past 6 years. It actually makes money, it's an expensive house so I haven't had any problems with renters they always pay.<p>If you really believe in your start-up you will go all in, you will not play it safe. Otherwise you are just like everyone else, a dreamer that is not really going to accomplish much outside what you do for your employer.