Launch Playbook for Employees With a Side Project: Evenings, Contracts and Quiet Launches
If you have a job, read your employment contract and any outside-work policy before you publish anything, because who owns your side project may depend on them. Keep your employer’s time, equipment and data out of it, launch in short evening blocks with one channel at a time, and decide in advance how public you want to be. This is not legal advice.
What should you read before you launch?
The launch itself is the easy part. The risk for an employee sits earlier: a clause that says your employer owns things you invent, or that you must report outside business activity, can turn a weekend project into a dispute. We cannot tell you what yours says or how a court would read it, so read the documents yourself and ask someone qualified if anything is unclear.
- Your employment contract. Look for sections on inventions or intellectual property, outside work, conflicts of interest and confidentiality.
- The staff handbook or policy pages. Companies often put outside-activity rules there, such as needing approval for paid side work.
- Any non-compete or non-solicit terms. They may restrict what market you can sell into, and for how long.
- Your own notes on how the project started. Write down when you began, on which computer and in whose time. Plain dated notes are useful later.
If the product relates to your employer’s business, treat it as a different level of risk and ask for a written answer before you proceed. Asking first costs one email; arguing later costs far more.
How do you keep work and product apart?
- Separate hardware and accounts. Build on your own computer, with your own repository, hosting and email. Never sign in to the product from a work laptop.
- Separate time. Evenings, weekends or leave. A launch comment that arrives at two in the afternoon is not a reason to answer it from your desk.
- Separate knowledge. Do not use confidential material, internal tools or customer data, and do not reuse code written for your employer.
- Separate promotion. Do not post to colleagues’ channels or use a work email signature. Do not mention your employer on the launch page unless you have agreed it.
How public should you be?
That is your call, and the options differ in what they cost you. The form on the free launch board asks for a maker name, so you choose what to put there: your real name, a handle or a studio name. Using a name that is not your legal one does not hide you from a determined search, and it makes a thin trust signal for visitors, so weigh it honestly.
| Level | How it looks | Good fit when | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open | Real name and profile links | The project is clearly unrelated to work and your employer is fine with it | Colleagues will see it |
| Handle | A consistent username, no employer mentioned | You want a track record without mixing it with your job | Slightly less trust from strangers |
| Studio | A small brand name with a contact email | You plan to sell it and want a business identity | Needs a bit more setup |
How do you launch in forty-five-minute evening blocks?
A block this size is long enough to do one real thing and short enough to survive a tiring day. Treat each as a single task, not a session to warm up in. The plan below runs over six weeks of about four blocks a week.
- Weeks one and two: the page and the one-sentence description, then a private test with two friends who are not colleagues.
- Week three: publish in one place, on a Saturday morning, so the first replies can be answered the same day. The free board needs only a form and one emailed link, so it fits a single block.
- Week four: reply in the evening blocks, fix the single most reported problem.
- Week five: one community post, after reading the rules, written in advance.
- Week six: a review: visits and conversations per link, and whether you still want to do this. Tiredness is data too.
The side-project launch checklist gives a tickable list for the same steps, and where to launch a side project puts the venues in order.
When should you tell your employer?
Tell them before you publish if the contract requires it, if the product is near your employer’s field, or if you plan to charge. A short, factual message works: what it is, that it is built in your own time on your own equipment, and that it does not use confidential information. Ask for a reply in writing. If none of those apply, many people wait until there is something to show, but the safe course is to ask early.
If a side project grows into something you want to run full time, the first paying customer playbook is the next step, and side project ideas or the productivity ideas on the board can help you pick the next thing while the first is running.
Frequently asked questions
Can my employer own my side project?
Possibly, depending on your contract and local law. Many contracts include an invention or intellectual property clause, and some cover work done outside office hours. We cannot say how yours applies, so read it, keep your employer’s equipment and data out of the project, and ask a qualified person if you are unsure.
Should I launch under my real name?
It is your choice. A real name builds trust but connects the project to you and your employer. A handle keeps the project separate and builds its own record. The free launch board’s form asks for a maker name, so you decide what to put there.
How much time does a launch need if I work full time?
A few short evening blocks a week can be enough over six weeks if you launch in one place first and reply promptly. Publish on a weekend morning so you can answer comments the same day, and avoid posting in several places during a busy work fortnight.
Do I have to tell my employer about a side project?
Check your contract and handbook. Some require approval or disclosure, especially if the project is paid or close to your employer’s field. If you are unsure, ask in writing before you publish. A short factual message is easier to give early than to explain after a launch.
Written by Post your build ideas with AI assistance and edited for this site. Where a page names another product, the facts came from that product’s own pages on the date shown above; terms change, so check them before you rely on them. About the publisher.