What made me quit
I was working for a company (name omitted on purpose) that was (and is) still running on really old technology. Perl, Vanilla PHP, jQuery and all intertwined in a complicated and awkward manner using tons of IFrames, 5-second polling to mimic real-time communication, etc. 🧟♂️
But that's all okay. The company was founded 15 years ago and the software grew, adding things to existing blocks. Also, the company does not have the time or know-how to develop upon new technology. Due to massive client pressure. ⏲
I was extremely frustrated in that job, because time pressure was crippling which forced me to deliver very sub-par results, building on sort of outdated tech. I wanted more. Deliver great software, built on current technologies.
Even though the company depended on me a lot, I decided (for my own sanity) to leave the company and dedicate myself to learn about all the tech I wanted to learn when I was still employed.
Unemployment
I am extremely fortunate to have built-up somewhat of a financial cushion 💰 in order to survive a couple of months. But even though, leaving my job with a steady income and do "nothing" meanwhile was a big gamble.
At first, I didn't even know where to start and I was frustrated with the JavaScript ecosystem. I had a hard time to find out how it actually worked. But I eventually got the hang of it by following tutorials and learning by doing.
But it was blissful! 🤩 Just amazing to be able to discover all kinds of new technology I so craved. I mainly focused on Vue.js and Node.js. I started writing blog posts about the stuff I learned and -finally- understood.
Coding with uncertain results
At some point I arrived at the state where I thought "Hey. I know everything I need to in order to re-create the software I was working on with the company I left with 2019 technology." 🤔
It is a chat system 💬 which has many other components included (video, co-browsing, screen-sharing, etc.). I decided to start with the ground work. It had to be secure and perfect. Authentication should be well thought-through, as well as the mix between real-time and other web communication.
I actually started the project in order to have something to show for in my portfolio. After I "finished" what I was shooting for, I thought that it had potential to actually replace the company's legacy software.
Therefore I spent a lot more time and effort on the project, in order to take care of edge-cases, avoid future problems, solve existing problems, now tailored to the very company I left months ago. I did this in silence and I was very uncertain if they one day would go for it to purchase the code from me.
The negotiation
One day when I found that the project was advanced enough to provide a solid ground for future development on the software, I contacted my former boss. To be honest, he wasn't thrilled. At first he thought I wanted to create a competition for his company (which I also could have done). 😱
After explaining in more detail what I was working on, the more convinced he got that maybe it was worth to take a look at. I got invited to the company for two days in order to present my development work and convince the existing team that what I was building is great work. 👍
I was extremely nervous, because a lot of time and effort went into this, and a lot was riding on it. But at the end, I seeminly convinced the team to get aboard.
I negotiated with my boss the terms and price they'd pay for what I built. They ended up paying 20000€ for the code as it was, plus 10000€ for one months of further customization on the project and training the team to learn to code on my basis. 🎉
Take-Away
If there is a take-away from this story, I think it is that sometimes it's worth to take a leap of faith and throw yourself into the unknown.
Because if you do a great job, believe in yourself, work your ass off, and deliver something you honestly think is worth it... Then maybe someone will pay for it.
The point I tell this story is to motivate other developers to take a step back, invest in themselves and eventually it will pay up. 💪
Disclaimer
Some might argue there are legal gray areas here.
You should never publish code that seems like it copies a company you just left, without consulting with them. It could be illegal, depending on your situation.
Also, don’t sell it to someone else. That for sure is illegal!
Oldest comments (46)
That must've been a great feeling to recreate the company's entire stack in just a few (unpaid) months. That's incredible, albeit one of the greatest power moves I have ever heard about!
Thanks for your kind words. Yes, it is a great feeling replicating a company's entire stack in a few months. However, the software is not all that extensive. It's just a lot of legacy code where probably half is for the trash can, and the rest is obsolete, and code desperately trying to satisfy clients (event though there is not enough workforce for it)
Very inspiring story Marc, I hope I can take a leap of faith just like you did someday. Congratulations!
Thank you Lucas. I hope you get the chance to take your leap of faith. Believe in yourself, and the rest will come naturally.
Wow, impressive. What about now? Are they happy with the new code?
Thanks Laurent. I'm now in the "1 months making adjustments and teaching the dev team how to operate the new stack". But they seem very satisfied with the result. I can't wait to see it in production with real clients using it.
that's really awesome, good luck then!
Thanks 🤩
bad ass!
Well, thank you Lizzie! Much appreciated 😊
Congratulations
Many thanks 🤗
Nice article Marc, very inspiring. I am currently fighting with the confusion in my head on what direction to go in at present, so this was great to read. Thanks for contributing.
Thank Bill. With what confusion are you fighting exactly? Is there something I can try to bring some perspective to? I'm glad to listen and give advice if I can.
Well, I too am depended on. The company I work at gave me my first job and started my career. This makes it really tough for me to justify in my head that I should walk away and do my own thing, even though at the same time it feels like that is what I should do.
They gave me a job when I needed one too. I adapted a lead role very quickly and designed most of the newer modules on the stack. BUT: I also contributed a lot during the years. They went from 5 digits in utilities to 7 digits in the time I were there. Obviously not saying that it was all because of me. But I’d like to think I added to that.
Also, I gave them a 6 months notice. And already mentioned that I wanted to leave a year before. They had time to prepare.
And even if you made friends there: It’s still business. You need to invest in yourself. I know that’s hard. I battled with my decision a lot. And I got offered a lot of very tempting offers to stay. But at the end, I knew what I wanted for myself. And it was probably the best decision I could have made.
If you feel “guilty” for letting down the company: Give them plenty of time ahead to plan your departure. Also, you can offer yourself to keep working on a freelance basis if they need for for important things.
They will (at least should) be happy for your decision to follow what you want.
This is the exact sort of content I needed before starting a brief employment break soon.
Best of luck on your journey, Johanna 😊
I've created something of an app too for my previous workplace and I'm not sure how should I price it. How do you come up with that number?
I counted roughly the hours I spent on it and multiplied it by my desired hourly rate.
That's amazing, congratulations! I went through something similar, taking that leap of faith to start working independently was scary at first, but turned out to be the best decision of my career.
Are you still working on that product?
Yes. I’m adding the final touches before spending time with the dev team to teach them how the code base works
Not sure about UK, but in the US you would've been sued up and down if you'd try to use your software as competition especially within just months of leaving. On top of potentially losing everything you own, you might have ended up having to fork over the code you made for free. Companies in the US have you sign NDAs, IP, and No Compete contracts that would be very hard to argue in court that you did not use knowledge you gained while at the company to create your project. Still, good for you that it worked out. I just wouldn't want other people getting this idea in their heads without understanding that it would likely blow up in their faces.
Never signed anything 😉
Yeah, in the US, even without signing something, it could fall under a trade secrets clause, which isn't specific to technology. It's just a warning to people that in general something like this is likely to come off as hostile. If you're in a dead-end job, leave on your own terms (be it freelance or a new job), but not with the goal of leveraging your former employer.
Huh. Seems like in the US it’s a little bit more strict then
Certainly, in general, employees get the short-end of the stick in on a lot of issues that larger corporations are able to weasel around, but in this case, you have to ask yourself, "Would you have built this if you hadn't worked there?", "Were some of your features based on what you worked on?", "Were some ideas for execution uniquely representative of the company's product?" Not specific to yours since I have no idea, but in a lot of cases, it's fair to say that a company's investment in their product should have some protections from rogue ex-employees, and drawing the line between intentions can get pretty gray in court especially if you're going to be standing opposite a team of lawyers.
At the end they’re happy that I provide them with a solution they need. I’d not consider myself a rogue. Especially because I wouldn’t have published it if they’d have refused.
I’m on excellent term with my former boss. Nobody is mad.
Yes, I understand. I did my best to indicate that I was not speaking about your specific situation/experience. Sorry if it came across that way; I just wanted to make those points because people see the post title and go "aha, I can do that too", and odds are it's not going to go down for them like it did for you. I think the more important message in your post is finding the courage to leave a job, investing in self-training if necessary, and looking towards the future.
You’re right. I should add this to the article
Added an explanation of that in the article 👍
Two words:
Inspiring.
Followed ✔️.
Happy to have inspired you, Theo 🤗
Avoid these gifs! annoying a lot! that I can't read your article focused
Noted! I tried something new, adding the gifs. Thanks for the feedback
Nice gamble. I have been in similar position. Quiting former job to learn the new tech (Angular and Node). Good work
Inspiring story Marc! I'm currently learning lots of new things outside of my job as I have the same urge as you! I want to create awesome things with the cool technologies that we have. I can't quite leave my job yet, but I'm committed to making it work with the time that I have outside of the job.
Keep on going. Investment in yourself is the best bet you can make. Good luck 💪
Hey Marc,
This is a great story. You are tough. Very motivating.