legal, co-founderI’ve founded a company but do not run it day to day. My cofounder does the day to day managing while I work part time for the company. This is mainly due to the lack of funding coming from the accelerator program we’re in. We won’t be generating revenue for a while so I’m looking for other work to pay the bills.
Our company (Company A) plans to use the product of another startup (Company B) in our production process. Company B has recently opened positions that I’m qualified for an interested in applying to.
Would there be a conflict of interest if I worked for company B while using their product in company A?
If this is a silly question, please tell me, I might be over thinking this one.
Yes, that would be a conflict of interest if any contract or agreement you make or have made with company A or B prohibit this. This can be partnership agreements, founders agreements, bylaws or employee contracts. There is no problem if the contracts permit it. After that, you should check if your partner is okay with it. He might feel like you are jumping ship if you leave him to do the work and you are elsewhere.
You should also check if the employee contract / bylaws of company B permit employees from working in other companies and or being connected to a customer. Some companies have clauses that prohibit this. If this is prohibited and you do not disclose it, you would be in breach of the contract and they could terminate you.
If all of the above works in your advantage, then serving at Company B can also work to the advantage of company A and B. Depending on your position, as an employee of company B, which potentially is a vendor to company A, you could negotiate advantageous terms and pricing for supplier contracts and company B, gains a steady customer
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