4 ms·

Back in Jan I went to a person well respected in the startup community (PG knows her) in BOS. She was a friend of a friend, I've known her for years..she previ

Back in Jan I went to a person well respected in the startup community (PG knows her) in BOS. She was a friend of a friend, I've known her for years..she previously had a high profile startup that crashed in the dotcom era. I wanted to bounce the idea off her and get her feedback. So I sent a presentation (marked confidential) and followed up with an hour long chat, which was helpful. She moved to the west coast the day after we talked and 2 weeks later I find that she taken my 90% of my idea, mixed it up with social network and gotten seed funding from a small west coast VC. I've been developing this idea on a shoestring and on the side for 6 months. I've got a lot invested in this. She's hired a indian development firm and been spamming blogs with her site name to get registrations. I've applied for a patent, but not sure it can be of any help right now. What action should I be taking? (besides wanting to run her over)

jkush 19y ago
Doesn't help much, but one thing you can do is feel good that you have good ideas. The second thing you can do is launch a competitor immediately. If she's using an outsourcing firm and isn't actually doing the development herself you've got a huge advantage. Use it. I'd be willing to bet that since it was your idea, you have a much better understanding of the problem and how you're solving it than she does. Use that too. See where she falls down in her offering and exploit it. Just my two cents.
- pg 19y ago
  I agree: launch a competitor immediately.
  - makeworldbetter 19y ago
  - msufianhameed 19y ago
    i agree too:do it as fast as you can. wish you all the best.
- vikram 19y ago
  Once it's launched, contact the same blogs that she has and say look we've already started, you don't need to wait. Force her to launch earlier than she wants to. The other thing I'd say is some 37Signals advice. Hold back some completed functionality at the time of launch. Release it in a week or twos time. Thus demonstrating that not only did you launch but you are constantly going to be ahead of her. Finally, please use the anger judiciously. Instead of running her over, crush her spirit.
omouse 19y ago
Did she take your presentation too?
- pissedoff 19y ago
  Yes, it's still sitting in her gmail account. :-(
  - litepost 19y ago
    Well then there's no reason Google can't take it.
    - pissedoff 19y ago
      I'm curious now....How do I get Google to delete my presentation from her email?
      - juwo 19y ago
        why dont you tell us what the idea is? what is her website url?
        piratechick 19y ago
eposts 19y ago
Do you have a working prototype? If not got one out there ASAP, otherwise your startup might die before it starts. http://www.paulgraham.com/startupmistakes.html http://www.paulgraham.com/startupmistakes.html 8. Slowness in Launching
pg 19y ago
mojuba 19y ago
Everything that's said about ideas being worthless is true most of the time, but not always unfortunately. So... next time don't reveal everything to a potential partner/VC. Keep some important bit of your idea secret. Something that isn't obvious, isn't on the surface, yet important for the implementation.
webwright 19y ago
Ideas ARE worthless. "Here's another way to look at it. If merely telling someone your idea means that it can be ripped off, then you hardly have a defensible product. If secrecy is your main weapon, then it will be hard to find investors. By the way, what happens when you ship? Are you going to ask every customer to sign a nondisclosure too?" And what about your first employees? (quote from an Old Guy Kawasaki Column) http://www.forbes.com/columnists/2005/06/16/entrepreneur-venture-capital-kawasaki-cx_gk_0616artofthestart.html http://www.forbes.com/columnists/2005/06/16/entrepreneur-venture-capital-kawasaki-cx_gk_0616artofthestart.html And if you think the fact that her seed-funded team of 5 developers gives her an indomitable advantage, think again. It's not what you do, it's HOW YOU DO IT. So what action should you be taking? I'd say to look real hard at what she's doing. If she nailed it and has built something great, find another idea. They're everywhere. If she hasn't nailed it and you can make a better product, make it. And, if you're feeling vindictive (I wouldn't bother with this), you could plant a few seeds within your shared network-- tell your mutual friends/contacts what she did.
- jey 19y ago
  Most webapps are trivial to implement, and the real value is in the idea. Given the idea, a competent programmer-designer could probably whip out most of the popular webapps out there easily.
  - omouse 19y ago
    Maybe, but they have to come up with the idea first. And then they have to avoid being discouraged from going through with the implementation. And then they need money to put the implementation somewhere on the net. And then they need to market it or hire a PR company to do that. And they need to maintain and support it. And then...you get the point. There's more than just the implementation to web apps.
    - jey 19y ago
      Yes, and the idea is the only hard part of all that. Especially if you're already a webapp-guy, not a random joe-schmoe who doesn't know source code from a security code. These are webapps, not operating systems, not mainframes, not databases. The barrier to entry, cost of operation, and development time are all pretty low. You can hire the PR people when you actually need them (probably sometime after you actually have cash flow). There's plenty of ways to market a webapp for free, and I sure would not hire a marketing firm to promote my new site.
litepost 19y ago
Trust in karma. "Vengeance is mine, I will repay," saith the Lord. :)
- omouse 19y ago
  He's better off making his own karma. Launch! For Sparta!
- nickb 19y ago
  Karma doesn't exist. http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Ellis11.html http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Ellis11.html
  - Tichy 19y ago
    That article falls a bit short, though. While probably there is no metaphysic power enforcing a karma balance, I like to think of the karma concept as simply another formulation of common wisdom. Some murderers get away with murder, but most probably don't, or if they do, they suffer from it etc. Likewise stealing ideas as a habit might eventually ruin your reputation and your career (although you might be filthy rich by the time).
- juwo 19y ago
  Look what happens when you quote anything from the Bible? they have downvoted you. you now have -1 points. As I learned myself.
gibsonf1 19y ago
She crashed once - why not help her crash again: Launch.
bootload 19y ago
'... You may advance and be absolutely irresistible, if you make for the enemy's weak points; you may retire and be safe from pursuit if your movements are more rapid than those of the enemy ...' ~ http://classics.mit.edu/Tzu/artwar.html http://classics.mit.edu/Tzu/artwar.html

jkush 19y ago

Doesn't help much, but one thing you can do is feel good that you have good ideas. The second thing you can do is launch a competitor immediately. If she's using an outsourcing firm and isn't actually doing the development herself you've got a huge advantage. Use it. I'd be willing to bet that since it was your idea, you have a much better understanding of the problem and how you're solving it than she does. Use that too. See where she falls down in her offering and exploit it. Just my two cents.

pg 19y ago
I agree: launch a competitor immediately.
- makeworldbetter 19y ago
- msufianhameed 19y ago
  i agree too:do it as fast as you can. wish you all the best.
vikram 19y ago
Once it's launched, contact the same blogs that she has and say look we've already started, you don't need to wait. Force her to launch earlier than she wants to. The other thing I'd say is some 37Signals advice. Hold back some completed functionality at the time of launch. Release it in a week or twos time. Thus demonstrating that not only did you launch but you are constantly going to be ahead of her. Finally, please use the anger judiciously. Instead of running her over, crush her spirit.

omouse 19y ago

Did she take your presentation too?

pissedoff 19y ago
Yes, it's still sitting in her gmail account. :-(
- litepost 19y ago
  Well then there's no reason Google can't take it.
  - pissedoff 19y ago
    I'm curious now....How do I get Google to delete my presentation from her email?
    - juwo 19y ago
      why dont you tell us what the idea is? what is her website url?
      - piratechick 19y ago

eposts 19y ago

Do you have a working prototype? If not got one out there ASAP, otherwise your startup might die before it starts. http://www.paulgraham.com/startupmistakes.html http://www.paulgraham.com/startupmistakes.html 8. Slowness in Launching

pg 19y ago

mojuba 19y ago

Everything that's said about ideas being worthless is true most of the time, but not always unfortunately. So... next time don't reveal everything to a potential partner/VC. Keep some important bit of your idea secret. Something that isn't obvious, isn't on the surface, yet important for the implementation.

webwright 19y ago

Ideas ARE worthless. "Here's another way to look at it. If merely telling someone your idea means that it can be ripped off, then you hardly have a defensible product. If secrecy is your main weapon, then it will be hard to find investors. By the way, what happens when you ship? Are you going to ask every customer to sign a nondisclosure too?" And what about your first employees? (quote from an Old Guy Kawasaki Column) http://www.forbes.com/columnists/2005/06/16/entrepreneur-venture-capital-kawasaki-cx_gk_0616artofthestart.html http://www.forbes.com/columnists/2005/06/16/entrepreneur-venture-capital-kawasaki-cx_gk_0616artofthestart.html And if you think the fact that her seed-funded team of 5 developers gives her an indomitable advantage, think again. It's not what you do, it's HOW YOU DO IT. So what action should you be taking? I'd say to look real hard at what she's doing. If she nailed it and has built something great, find another idea. They're everywhere. If she hasn't nailed it and you can make a better product, make it. And, if you're feeling vindictive (I wouldn't bother with this), you could plant a few seeds within your shared network-- tell your mutual friends/contacts what she did.

jey 19y ago
Most webapps are trivial to implement, and the real value is in the idea. Given the idea, a competent programmer-designer could probably whip out most of the popular webapps out there easily.
- omouse 19y ago
  Maybe, but they have to come up with the idea first. And then they have to avoid being discouraged from going through with the implementation. And then they need money to put the implementation somewhere on the net. And then they need to market it or hire a PR company to do that. And they need to maintain and support it. And then...you get the point. There's more than just the implementation to web apps.
  - jey 19y ago
    Yes, and the idea is the only hard part of all that. Especially if you're already a webapp-guy, not a random joe-schmoe who doesn't know source code from a security code. These are webapps, not operating systems, not mainframes, not databases. The barrier to entry, cost of operation, and development time are all pretty low. You can hire the PR people when you actually need them (probably sometime after you actually have cash flow). There's plenty of ways to market a webapp for free, and I sure would not hire a marketing firm to promote my new site.

litepost 19y ago

Trust in karma. "Vengeance is mine, I will repay," saith the Lord. :)

omouse 19y ago
He's better off making his own karma. Launch! For Sparta!
nickb 19y ago
Karma doesn't exist. http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Ellis11.html http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Ellis11.html
- Tichy 19y ago
  That article falls a bit short, though. While probably there is no metaphysic power enforcing a karma balance, I like to think of the karma concept as simply another formulation of common wisdom. Some murderers get away with murder, but most probably don't, or if they do, they suffer from it etc. Likewise stealing ideas as a habit might eventually ruin your reputation and your career (although you might be filthy rich by the time).
juwo 19y ago
Look what happens when you quote anything from the Bible? they have downvoted you. you now have -1 points. As I learned myself.

gibsonf1 19y ago

She crashed once - why not help her crash again: Launch.

bootload 19y ago

'... You may advance and be absolutely irresistible, if you make for the enemy's weak points; you may retire and be safe from pursuit if your movements are more rapid than those of the enemy ...' ~ http://classics.mit.edu/Tzu/artwar.html http://classics.mit.edu/Tzu/artwar.html