6 ms·

Not to sound like a douche, but without the full context of the SaaS business and idea (or at least information on the target market and market size, traction t

Not to sound like a douche, but without the full context of the SaaS business and idea (or at least information on the target market and market size, traction thus far, potential, resources available to the other company, etc), I don't see how anyone here is going to be able to help you. If this other company are a couple of guys that make some calls from their bedroom that are the 'sales/marketing' team, etc and the product is yet another CRM solution then you'll want a much larger percentage than if you're dealing with a company that has a number of staff, millions of dollars, etc to throw at this project, in which case you'd likely be proposing to take on a much smaller stake. More info needed. :-)

noobaloob 13y ago
The market is huge (local businesses). They can sell (and deliver on their pitch) at a higher price point (~$130/month per user). Potential is tough, but it is reasonable to believe that, at the current rate, it could be generating $1M+/yr in a year or two. As far as resources, they are a small company, but have access to a sales force that is very inexpensive and can close on cold-calls, both in the US and internationally. I believe they are looking to partner because they either can't afford, or don't want to pay upfront for development. They are non-technical for the most part and need consulting/advice in that regard.
- chrisbridgett 13y ago
  Okay, a few more questions: What are the SaaS company's founder(s)'s backgrounds? Have they launched and run a successful business before? Are you sure they really know what they're doing? It sounds like you don't really stand to lose anything - you can continue your agency business whilst siphoning some of your teams hours off onto this project. On the other hand, if this other company has the 'vision' and all their needs catered for, except development, that leaves you in a somewhat weaker position (in my opinion) as they could pick any decent agency to do their development. Is their anything unique about your relationship/agency to them, other than having developed the MVP? I'm not going to be able to advise you on a starting percentage since I have zero experience in negotiating these kinds of things, but I imagine this is all information anyone here would need to even take a vague stab-in-the-dark guess at a starting point for your negotiations.

noobaloob 13y ago

The market is huge (local businesses). They can sell (and deliver on their pitch) at a higher price point (~$130/month per user). Potential is tough, but it is reasonable to believe that, at the current rate, it could be generating $1M+/yr in a year or two. As far as resources, they are a small company, but have access to a sales force that is very inexpensive and can close on cold-calls, both in the US and internationally. I believe they are looking to partner because they either can't afford, or don't want to pay upfront for development. They are non-technical for the most part and need consulting/advice in that regard.

chrisbridgett 13y ago
Okay, a few more questions: What are the SaaS company's founder(s)'s backgrounds? Have they launched and run a successful business before? Are you sure they really know what they're doing? It sounds like you don't really stand to lose anything - you can continue your agency business whilst siphoning some of your teams hours off onto this project. On the other hand, if this other company has the 'vision' and all their needs catered for, except development, that leaves you in a somewhat weaker position (in my opinion) as they could pick any decent agency to do their development. Is their anything unique about your relationship/agency to them, other than having developed the MVP? I'm not going to be able to advise you on a starting percentage since I have zero experience in negotiating these kinds of things, but I imagine this is all information anyone here would need to even take a vague stab-in-the-dark guess at a starting point for your negotiations.