3 ms·

Your original sugar daddy did not mind that you sold the solution that he helped develop to other companies? That is the situation I am in. I have developed s

Your original sugar daddy did not mind that you sold the solution that he helped develop to other companies? That is the situation I am in. I have developed solutions to problems for the US's 4th largest company in a space with hundreds of other competitors. I own the technology but they would certainly take a dim view of me selling it to their competitors - and stop using me thus cutting off my only source of income. Any ideas how to capitalize on what I have developed?

edw519 15y ago
You bring up something I failed to mention: this can be a touchy situation. In your case, it sounds like you have a great customer, but not a sugar daddy. I would never do something to upset a current customer. You could make them a partner so that they can make a little extra money selling the clever solution they conceived, but that's really hard to do at the enterprise level. That works much better with a small business alpha male owner. Some of the things to consider when taking your sugar daddy's solution to market: Are they enterprise? If so, this probably isn't worth the trouble. Too much red tape and illogical thinking. Does the solution provide them with a distinctive advantage over their competitors? If so, it only makes sense that they'd want to keep it for themselves. If not, they may gain favors among their peers by sharing it. Is is a horizontal solution? Then there's really not much of a competitive threat by sharing it. How opportunistic are they? Some people want to be sugar daddies because they're jealous of our IT margins. They can make as much sharing their technology as they do in their primary business. Does wider use of the technology help their primary business? Some solutions become geometrically more effective if your trading partners are using them too.
- onemoreact 15y ago
  That's some good advice. But, don't forget with enterprise customers you can offer to sell the company to them. 2-20 million for a long term strategic advantage plus your proven track record can be seen as net win for everyone. And if negotiations break down they are less likely to think they already own you. I would be cautious of any sort of long term profit sharing, but offering to share a few years revenue from any 'connections' made in the industry can offset the feeling you are burning them by sharing the secret sauce.
ScottBurson 15y ago
It doesn't sound like they negotiated an exclusive license to the technology in the initial contract. If that's what they want, they should pay for it. Assuming the value of your work is now proven, I think you should work that angle. "You see how valuable this is; wouldn't you like to have exclusive rights to it?" The price should go up by at least 10x.
billpaetzke 15y ago
A company that I worked at did this: Started as a consulting company. Made one-off web apps for businesses in a particular industry. Realized a pattern in what these businesses wanted. Built a generic web app product. Sold the product to (and migrated) the old customers. Flourished as a product business.

edw519 15y ago

You bring up something I failed to mention: this can be a touchy situation. In your case, it sounds like you have a great customer, but not a sugar daddy. I would never do something to upset a current customer. You could make them a partner so that they can make a little extra money selling the clever solution they conceived, but that's really hard to do at the enterprise level. That works much better with a small business alpha male owner. Some of the things to consider when taking your sugar daddy's solution to market: Are they enterprise? If so, this probably isn't worth the trouble. Too much red tape and illogical thinking. Does the solution provide them with a distinctive advantage over their competitors? If so, it only makes sense that they'd want to keep it for themselves. If not, they may gain favors among their peers by sharing it. Is is a horizontal solution? Then there's really not much of a competitive threat by sharing it. How opportunistic are they? Some people want to be sugar daddies because they're jealous of our IT margins. They can make as much sharing their technology as they do in their primary business. Does wider use of the technology help their primary business? Some solutions become geometrically more effective if your trading partners are using them too.

onemoreact 15y ago
That's some good advice. But, don't forget with enterprise customers you can offer to sell the company to them. 2-20 million for a long term strategic advantage plus your proven track record can be seen as net win for everyone. And if negotiations break down they are less likely to think they already own you. I would be cautious of any sort of long term profit sharing, but offering to share a few years revenue from any 'connections' made in the industry can offset the feeling you are burning them by sharing the secret sauce.

ScottBurson 15y ago

It doesn't sound like they negotiated an exclusive license to the technology in the initial contract. If that's what they want, they should pay for it. Assuming the value of your work is now proven, I think you should work that angle. "You see how valuable this is; wouldn't you like to have exclusive rights to it?" The price should go up by at least 10x.

billpaetzke 15y ago

A company that I worked at did this: Started as a consulting company. Made one-off web apps for businesses in a particular industry. Realized a pattern in what these businesses wanted. Built a generic web app product. Sold the product to (and migrated) the old customers. Flourished as a product business.