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My company is medium size, at least within our industry, and I actively look for little companies. Every complex platform has bugs and un-considered edge-cases

by eszed 1y ago

My company is medium size, at least within our industry, and I actively look for little companies. Every complex platform has bugs and un-considered edge-cases and poorly thought out engineering choices. Large companies don't fix them; small companies do. (That's overstated, obviously, but not wildly so.) I'm the sort of client that wants to help you improve your product, and can - if you'll let me. When I'm allowed to talk directly to engineers (possible at small companies, vanishingly rare at large ones), we both end up better off. I've seen the whole cycle, though, and it gets frustrating. Small and ambitious company works closely with me to build something really great; raises money / goes public / gets acquired; early employees cash out (good for them!) or get outsourced (disastrous choice); development stalls and features break. Now I'm back looking for a new small company to work with again. It's dispiriting, and so, so wasteful.

fuzzzerd 1y ago
Sounds like you are had some experience that might leave you with some unique insights into markets underserved by small players that can deliver continuous improvements.
isaachinman 1y ago
What services do you offer, exactly?
latchkey 1y ago
Small companies are hungry.
specialist 1y ago
Have you ever negotiated having the source code (etc) put into escrow, should the vendor abandon the product? Working in healthcare (electronic medical records), that was a standard line item for our customers. Good thing too; after acquisition, our grandparent company's execs quickly found a new leprechaun to chase after, and our product died on the vine. Despite first mover advantage, great revenue, and pipeline of prospects, our tiny effort was less than a round off error to the grandparent (Quest Diagnostics).
lelanthran 1y ago
I'm technically a small company (solo consultant) but I always offer the sources as a non redistributable irrevocable license. It means that my client can always get a contractor in at some later stage to modify the system to their hearts content.

by eszed 1y ago

fuzzzerd 1y ago

Sounds like you are had some experience that might leave you with some unique insights into markets underserved by small players that can deliver continuous improvements.

isaachinman 1y ago

What services do you offer, exactly?

latchkey 1y ago

Small companies are hungry.

specialist 1y ago

Have you ever negotiated having the source code (etc) put into escrow, should the vendor abandon the product? Working in healthcare (electronic medical records), that was a standard line item for our customers. Good thing too; after acquisition, our grandparent company's execs quickly found a new leprechaun to chase after, and our product died on the vine. Despite first mover advantage, great revenue, and pipeline of prospects, our tiny effort was less than a round off error to the grandparent (Quest Diagnostics).

lelanthran 1y ago

I'm technically a small company (solo consultant) but I always offer the sources as a non redistributable irrevocable license. It means that my client can always get a contractor in at some later stage to modify the system to their hearts content.