Sometime ago, a startup I was advising got blindsided in a client meeting. A major prospect had asked if they “also owned the productivity plugin”a tool that was, in fact, built by one of their own engineers. On company time.
The plugin was good. Too good. It had more traction than their core product.
There was no side hustle policy in place. No guardrails. No IP clause tight enough to prevent the fallout. What followed was legal reviews, team friction, and a board questioning how well the CEO knew their own team.
They wrote a policy that made room for personal projects, but set hard lines on IP, time use, and transparency. The engineer stayed. So did the trust.
Here’s the takeaway I give every client now: your smartest people will build, whether you say yes or not. Give them the freedom, but give them the framework. Before it costs you control of your own roadmap.
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