"The people with money assume they can ask for whatever they like and have no concept that sometimes it's simply unprofitable for the little-guy to deliver it."

"The people with money assume they can ask for whatever they like and have no concept that sometimes it's simply unprofitable for the little-guy to deliver it." Thats a question of negotiating, isn't it? They can ask for whatever they like and you can reply with whatever you like. And then you find a agreement, or not. The problem in your case seems to have been more lack of confidence and experience on your part, because like you said, selling a licence for a existing product is something very different, from making a contract about new features. Otherwise a little guy can grow and hire more people to help him with a big contract, if this is what he or she wants.