[HN Gopher] Ask HN: Laid off -> solo founder. Do I look like I'm...
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       Ask HN: Laid off -> solo founder. Do I look like I'm trying to hide
       something?
        
       Before I was laid off, I'd been working on a side project and had
       been looking for an excuse to quit my job to commit to it fully. I
       have quite a lot saved, and now I can survive off severance alone
       for over a year.  My fear is that should I return to the job
       market, I'll look like I'm trying to cover up a long period of
       unemployment on my resume. Employers would see that I only
       committed to this project after being laid off.  At any rate, it
       wouldn't be much of a handicap signal.
        
       Author : ephemeralname
       Score  : 5 points
       Date   : 2023-07-07 22:12 UTC (49 minutes ago)
        
       | ggm wrote:
       | You have nothing to hide here. Accept and "wear with pride" that
       | you used the lay-off to explore an idea. You can show its roots
       | lie before the termination, and you made a rational decision.
        
       | dpifke wrote:
       | Having been down this path before, my experience is that you have
       | nothing to worry about.
       | 
       | I did have it come up once on a background check after accepting
       | a job offer, because I had listed my startup on my resume (but it
       | no longer existed). The background check company asked for
       | incorporation papers or a business license in lieu of paystubs,
       | and was satisfied when I provided them.
       | 
       | If you're worried about it, a city or county business license is
       | typically under $100/year and can be obtained as a sole
       | proprietor if you're not yet ready to form a corporation or LLC
       | but want a paper trail of when you started the company.
        
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       (page generated 2023-07-07 23:02 UTC)