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?

3 points

Sanket2001

14 hours ago


8 comments

codingdave 8 hours ago

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.

  • paulcole 2 hours ago

    Don’t bother with the lawyer.

    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.

AznHisoka 7 hours ago

Are you hiring people in 3rd world countries cause I dont understand how $300K can support 25 people?

  • Sanket2001 14 minutes ago

    Yeah its based in India

robthebrew 14 hours ago

Check your contract, particularly non-compete clauses.

uncomplexity_ 6 hours ago

brotip: you can, but do it in stealth. be smart about it.

scarface_74 9 hours ago

25 employees and only $300K ARR?