Is it fine to use a startup as an affiliation? My situation: I have finished university more than 10 years ago. I work for company X. I also own a small startup company called Y (no employees). I am in the process of publishing a paper and I was asked to provide an affiliation. Not providing one is not an option, in the sense it's a mandatory field on the form. I asked X and X said no, as I worked on the paper in my spare time.

Does it make sense to use Y as my affiliation (which is 100% true though not necessarily relevant)? The other option would be to try with something like "Independent researcher" and hope the journal is fine with it (idea came from here; example).

Relevant questions:


Does one need to be affiliated with a university to publish papers?
Using home address when submitting an article with no affiliation?
I was asked to provide an affiliation [for a paper]. Not providing one is not an option, in the sense it's a mandatory field on the form. 


You could write N/A or unaffiliated, since this seems like the most relevant answer.


  Does it make sense to use [my startup] as my affiliation (which is 100% true though not necessarily relevant)? 


Just like your employer decided that they didn't want their company name on your paper, you should consider whether you want your startup name on your paper. 



On an aside, I wonder whether an employer (generally) has the right to deny an employee of listing the employer as their affiliation. (Some employers -- especially those in R&amp;D -- will explicitly define contractual conditions, but generally they will not.)