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All,

I am wondering whether there are tendency for someone to build a startup using the technology their former employer use. So do you use the technology your former employer use or some other technology that you think more hip than what your former employer use? What are your reason to use one and not the other?

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5 Answers

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One of the main reasons I started my own business was to get experience in the technologies that my employer wasn't using. The possibility of making a profit from your new skills can be a great motivator to try something new.

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up vote 1 down vote

When selecting the technology to use, in any new project, not just a new startup company - what should be most important, in my view, is what technology the team members are most skilled in. It doesn't have to be the latest, most hip, greatest technology. You want to be productive, and what makes you productive is using a technology you are experienced with.

Having said that, it's very likely that when starting a company you'll be using the technology your previous employer used. Not because that's what they used but because you worked there and used that technology and probably that's what you're most experienced with.

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up vote 0 down vote

I could see someone leaving a Microsoft or Oracle shop and start their own venture with LAMP or some other software stack with less expensive licensing.

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AH - no. Why? Licensing for startups is cheap. VERY cheap (30 USD per year, unlimited). And someone working at MS or Oracle is either an idiot - or a specialist in the technologies he uses there. Which means a LOT less incentive to work with unrpooven / unknown technologies. – NetTecture Mar 7 '11 at 8:03
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@nettecture - Jeff has a valid point. Jeff said leaving A MS / Oracle shop - not leaving the actual companies. You ever negotiate an oracle license? There are cheaper / better solutions depending on the problem domain - something that a person in a closed shop may want to learn but otherwise could not. And yes, MS has startup programs - but there's a time limit, and some people feel constrained by it. Not saying FOSS is better, but for some its a valid path. – jimg Mar 7 '11 at 14:13
Ever seen MS BizSpark? 100 USD for 3 years ;) But still, someone earning a living with Oracle is an Oracle specialist. Eithe he is bad and it makes no difference, or simple said he has years of accumulated knowledge and jsut switching for switching's sake is not a good approach. It is not agood approach to move to a startup (risky) and get out of a technology you know (risky). Too many risks. – NetTecture Mar 7 '11 at 14:19
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@netTecture Yeah, seen it. How much after 3 years is the issue. example: infoq.com/articles/architecting-tekpub. Started & know .net MVC . Deployed, then migrated due to anticipated licensing costs. it happens. – jimg Mar 7 '11 at 20:41
Yeah. Good example of people not knowing what they do. Someone obviously did not check pricing. I have been going through the post and it just does NOT add up. Saying that as MS SPLA provider. – NetTecture Mar 7 '11 at 20:50
up vote 1 down vote

Both approaches can be fine. If you have a good reason to switch technology, starting over is a great opportunity, but it's an additional risk. If you think you can attain your goals with the technology you already know, it's one less risk and you'll be ready to go faster.

Of course, you should consider other aspects of that decision. Here are just a few:

  • your ability to hire talent
  • the ecosystem of third party tools and libraries
  • your perception of what technology will serve you best over the next few years (e.g. will the answer to the previous two points change?)
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up vote 2 down vote

Most probably.

If some employee is working for given employer, he is an expert in a given technology that the employer use. So, it is expected that he will use his knowledge in the startup latter.

Another question is the usage of proprietary technology and non-competitive clauses that are part of the work contract.

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