[vfc1]

Don't overthink it. You can validate the idea using SEO tools, check if the competitors have traffic and do some detective work to see if they are viable companies.

Check the SEO space, and see how many people are running ads on the main search terms, how hard is it to rank for the the main keywords. Check if forums exists, and discount coupons for similar products in marketplaces, check for similar products on product hunt and all the other product websites like Appsumo, Capterra, etc.

Look for blogs, Youtube channels, Facebook groups, subreddits. Join the communities and post there, ask questions. Interact one on one with at least 15 or 20 people and ask them about their needs.

You can do all this in a couple of weeks in the evening, without even writing a single line of code, and validate your idea.

Regarding the legal part, unless you are directly competing with your employer, they couldn't care less.

And even then, a lot of companies are created by people that learned the industry by working for other companies.

Your boss does not care about your side project, as long as you get the job done. But for you to feel better, don't put your name on it until you have quit your job, it's the internet you can still be anonymous.

No company is going to waste their time and expensive legal resources gratuitously suing you for a side project, unless it's something blatant that directly impacts their bottom line.

I wouldn't tell your boss about your side-project either. He will likely just see it as a sign of lack of dedication, that your priorities are elsewhere, and a tell sign that you will leave soon anyway.

So if they are on the fence on keeping you, that might trigger a decision.

[alfiedotwtf]

> Your boss does not care about your side project, as long as you get the job done. But for you to feel better, don't put your name on it until you have quit your job, it's the internet you can still be anonymous.

> No company is going to waste their time and expensive legal resources gratuitously suing you for a side project, unless it's something blatant that directly impacts their bottom line.

Don't be so sure. Some jurisdictions allow companies to own the IP you create outside of work hours if it's explicitly in your contract or you're using work resources.

They may not sue you... until you have profit - then they'll want to collect their rightfully legal share.

[zamfi]

So…when you then own a large successful company you’ll have to deal with 1 additional lawsuit from someone who thinks they have some ownership stake?

You should be so lucky.

[victor106]

> I wouldn't tell your boss about your side-project either. He will likely just see it as a sign of lack of dedication…

This.

Some people are either too naive or too trustworthy of their boss. You should never disclose your side gigs yo anyone remotely connected to your work unless they are also part of your side gig.

[gcatalfamo]

Not a bad place to start, but this hardly works in B2B where high touch selling is required on a normal basis

[zamfi]

It absolutely works in B2B. Why would it not? Nothing prevents you from talking to potential customers about an idea you have with a slide deck.

[meekaaku]

Forgive my ignorance, can you tell what these SEO tools are?

[ativzzz]

> Interact one on one with at least 15 or 20 people and ask them about their needs.

How do you actually do this? Message random people to hop on a zoom chat for 30 min to discuss their problems? How do you word this? Am I weird that I can't think of anything that someone else could come up with that I would want to chat with a random stranger on the internet if they approached me for this?