Boss dismissed his ideas and he got laid off. Months after, employee got a huge shock: 'I won't even get...'

An employee was completely disillusioned Reddit user recently revealed how his old boss betrayed him. Taking to the subreddit Anti Work, a Reddit user revealed how his design ideas, which were cruelly dismissed by his boss, were quietly used by the same boss when he floated a new company.

The employee explained that the situation began around three years earlier when a colleague encouraged him to present a product concept to senior management. Confident in the proposal, he pitched the idea to company leadership, but the response was discouraging. According to him, executives dismissed the concept outright, describing it as unnecessarily complicated rather than recognizing its potential.

Instead of abandoning the project, the employee continued refining it. He created working prototypes and arranged demonstrations with customers. Feedback from those users was overwhelmingly positive, convincing both him and a software developer on the team that the concept deserved further investment. The developer voluntarily built a proof of concept to showcase its capabilities.


However, the company's chief executive substantially altered the proposal, insisting that management—not customers—knew what users actually wanted. The revised version was later presented to customers, who reacted with disappointment because many of the features they had appreciated were removed. Despite the negative response, the company proceeded with the executive's preferred version. The product failed to achieve the expected results, and the CEO eventually stepped down.

Following the leadership change, a former company adviser became the new chief executive. Initially, the employee believed their working relationship would be more productive because the new leader appeared approachable and supportive. That optimism quickly faded after the executive criticized the employee's earlier designs, saying he had never considered them worthwhile, even during his time as an adviser.

The employee said the workplace environment deteriorated soon afterward. He felt increasingly excluded from important discussions and decisions before ultimately being laid off. Months later, the company itself was shut down.

The biggest surprise came when the former executive launched a new startup. According to the employee, the new venture relied heavily on the same design concepts that had previously been dismissed. He claimed the company even used the original wireframes rather than improved versions, and customers were already paying for the product.

The employee expressed disappointment that if the startup became successful, he would receive neither recognition nor an ownership stake despite believing the core concepts originated from his work.

Reddit Community Weighs In

The story prompted extensive discussion among Reddit users, many of whom viewed it as a cautionary tale about sharing innovative ideas in the workplace. One commenter advised employees to be selective about revealing original concepts unless they completely trust their organization's leadership and ethical standards.

Another participant suggested that professionals with valuable ideas should consider developing them independently whenever possible. The commenter argued that creating products outside an employer's organization could help retain full ownership of the intellectual property. They also noted that employment agreements often contain invention assignment or work-for-hire clauses, making it uncommon for employees to retain legal rights over innovations developed as part of their jobs unless special contractual exceptions are negotiated beforehand.