[orlick]

I had a unique idea that I implemented in my part time. The site was featured on Techcrunch a few years back and quickly started making a lot of money. Within a few months a handful of VC funded competitors sprung up. They were able to iterate on the concept very quickly and completely destroyed me within the year by developing a significantly better product then I did.

The moral of the story: Working on your startup part-time is a great way to mitigate risk while you build out your first version. However, if you see some traction quit you day-job and start executing relentlessly.

[sbraford]

I think it would also be tricky to explain to your employers why you're working on a startup on the side.

Was your name featured on TechCrunch, or just a URL?

I've tried doing "anonymous" startups under pseudonyms, it's hard to be taken seriously by the likes of TechCrunch, etc.

[juwo]

That is sad - I sympathize with you. What was the idea and why couldnt you also get funding when it started making money?