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On one hand, time not spent on product is time not improving the bottom line. Period. For a small company, that can easily mean instant death. On the other hand, I've regularly taken a day or two off at times when I needed a break from working on our primary product, and ended up writing stuff that either massively improved my programming abilities, or contributed in a huge, but non-obvious, way towards improving our app. Working on those side-project has helped to keep me energized and focused; you can't spend all day making license plates. So, I'd hire someone who had a side-project, provided that it didn't conflict with what the company is doing, and that they were professional enough to not work on their 'side project' at the office. I'd also want to be kept in the loop on what the side project is, because I want to make sure there isn't a conflict of interest. And also because, if it turns out that this project could be productized or would otherwise benefit the company, I could offer to buy it and put them to work on it on company time. Alternatively, if an employee's 'side project' turned into their own scrappy startup, that's fine too, but at that point they really need to leave and focus on building their own company; it's just too big of a legal risk to keep them on as full-time employees. |