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I'd advise you to have a fallback option. A BATNA, as described by the negotiation books. To achieve this, I'd try reaching out to a couple of similar companie

I'd advise you to have a fallback option. A BATNA, as described by the negotiation books. To achieve this, I'd try reaching out to a couple of similar companies that have similar user bases, where you could do a similar deal. Write a sales-y email describing the growth of the product, IE, 15% day on day growth, 600 users, good engagement, etc. Then drop that you've been approached by a similar company, and you're looking for a company to partner with, on both this application, and future applications. And, boom. Once they're interested in bidding, you're suddenly negotiating from a place of power. Don't forget that you have built something thats very valuable - an application that's growing, that has active users. Ensure you get a fair price for what you've done. And the best way to get a fair price, is by getting a better feel for the 'market value' of your partnership by talking to some other companies. I wouldn't be too concerned about the idea that "breaking even is harder". If you can find a great partner with a X.X million person built-in user base, you'll be able to replicate this success many times over, for a mutually beneficial partnership. And with a couple of offers on the table, you'll be able to negotiate more favourable terms as well. You'd definitely be able to negotiate a better split than 50/50. Plus, during the negotiation process, you'll be able to put some interesting benefits on the table to help you get an even better deal, such as - the partner company you chose will get first right of refusal on the next 2 products you generate. Anyway, best of luck!

batman 15y ago
Thanks for the advice Jason, we often loose sight of how valuable our product is when comparing it against the big guys. I agree, having other options to gauge your market value takes the pressure off and balances the negotiation. Do you think it's better to delay the negotiations until we have a similar interest from another company? As an fellow Australian you might be interested to know it's for AFL :)
- jason_tko 15y ago
  I think it's good to do things in tandem. As soon as you've sent your first email to another company discussing potential partnership options, I would recommend sending an email along the lines of: "Thanks very much for your interest in doing a deal with us. I've looked into your companies background, and I'm really impressed with what you've managed to build. We're definitely looking for opportunities to partner with companies like yourself to expand our potential userbase, since we've had demonstrated success with this particular app we're keen to continue to build on this success and growth. In the interests of being open and upfront, I should let you know that we're in discussions with other companies about potential partnership options. We'll be in touch soon with some more information or questions on how we might be able to move forward." I would recommend sending a message like that. It does a number of good things. 1. Reinforces your interest to work with that particular company 2. Reinforces your app and the success and growth it's having 3. Shows that you're an experienced operator since you're fielding other quotes, and you're a good operator, because you're being up front and honest about it. 4. Shows that you're in no rush to make a deal, and you'll deal with things in your own time. All together that sends quite a powerful message, and lets you start negotiating from a position of strength. Which, really, you're in. You just need to realise it, and communicate it.

batman 15y ago

Thanks for the advice Jason, we often loose sight of how valuable our product is when comparing it against the big guys. I agree, having other options to gauge your market value takes the pressure off and balances the negotiation. Do you think it's better to delay the negotiations until we have a similar interest from another company? As an fellow Australian you might be interested to know it's for AFL :)

jason_tko 15y ago
I think it's good to do things in tandem. As soon as you've sent your first email to another company discussing potential partnership options, I would recommend sending an email along the lines of: "Thanks very much for your interest in doing a deal with us. I've looked into your companies background, and I'm really impressed with what you've managed to build. We're definitely looking for opportunities to partner with companies like yourself to expand our potential userbase, since we've had demonstrated success with this particular app we're keen to continue to build on this success and growth. In the interests of being open and upfront, I should let you know that we're in discussions with other companies about potential partnership options. We'll be in touch soon with some more information or questions on how we might be able to move forward." I would recommend sending a message like that. It does a number of good things. 1. Reinforces your interest to work with that particular company 2. Reinforces your app and the success and growth it's having 3. Shows that you're an experienced operator since you're fielding other quotes, and you're a good operator, because you're being up front and honest about it. 4. Shows that you're in no rush to make a deal, and you'll deal with things in your own time. All together that sends quite a powerful message, and lets you start negotiating from a position of strength. Which, really, you're in. You just need to realise it, and communicate it.