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Built a BI Tool and now company wants me to bring it internal...
r/Entrepreneur
7/10/2025
Content Summary
A sales professional built a custom BI tool to track competitor e-commerce data, which the company now claims ownership of. The post discusses legal implications of IP created during employment, with commenters debating ownership rights and suggesting strategies ranging from legal action to career pivoting. Key themes include contract interpretation, monetization of personal projects, and employer-employee power dynamics.
Opinion Analysis
Mainstream opinion suggests companies own IP created during work hours (u/FrewdWoad: 'things you are paid to build...are owned by the company'). Conflicting views exist between:
- Legal compliance advocates (u/DontRememberOldPass: 'fruit of the poisonous tree' argument)
- Entrepreneurial resistance (u/NoVaseline420: 'don’t give them anything') Debates center on:
- Scope of employment contracts
- Ethics of withholding technical knowledge
- Balance between corporate rights and individual innovation
SAAS TOOLS
| SaaS | URL | Category | Features/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custom BI Tool | N/A | Business Intelligence | Competitor data scraping, dashboard with date filtering, revenue estimation, export to Excel, inventory tracking |
| skuuudle | N/A | Competitor Monitoring | Mentioned as existing alternative for price tracking |
| pricetweakers | N/A | Price Monitoring | Cited as competitor analysis solution |
USER NEEDS
Pain Points:
- Ownership disputes over self-built tools
- Legal uncertainty regarding IP rights
- Desire to monetize personally developed systems
Problems to Solve:
- Resolve company claims on employee-created tools
- Protect personal intellectual property
- Avoid legal repercussions while maximizing value
Potential Solutions:
- Legal consultation for employment contracts
- Negotiate reimbursement for infrastructure costs
- Create LLC for IP protection
- Leverage tool for career advancement/promotion
GROWTH FACTORS
Effective Strategies:
- Leveraging personal projects for career pivots
- Offering implementation consulting services
- Using competitor analysis as value proposition
Marketing & Acquisition:
- Direct outreach to competitor companies
- Positioning as sales enablement technology
Monetization & Product:
- Subscription model for data access
- Value-based pricing for analytics
- Developing export/API features
User Engagement:
- Training staff on system usage
- Continuous feature updates
- Dashboard customization for different departments