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As someone who has even tangentially dealt with corporate lawyers (crosses himself and spits) I would be hesitant as a young entrepreneur to even think about wo

As someone who has even tangentially dealt with corporate lawyers (crosses himself and spits) I would be hesitant as a young entrepreneur to even think about working with them without my own legal nuclear device. Imagine that I should develop something for them that was truly revolutionary, or even something for them that was somewhat related to something I subsequently developed that was truly revolutionary. I shudder sir. I shudder. Of course... I'm not an entrepreneur. So what do I know?

rjurney 17y ago
I don't really disagree with you. If you have a revolutionary idea in a city like Atlanta, and you are determined to build it without customer contact - you should probably move to Silicon Valley. As one VC I interviewed in my research, Mike Maples put it, "Silicon Valley is the place to create 'Thuderlizards,' but you can build a great company anywhere." Most startups, however, have bad ideas, so keeping them secret doesn't help anyone. PG has talked about this repeatedly. Usually your 'Big Idea' turns out to either be total shite, is different enough from what customers want that they won't buy it in its initial form, or the market for your product is not the one you expected. So as a non-attorney, I can't possibly disagree with you. As an entrepreneur, I know in my GUTS that the key to succeeding here is to get your 'Big Idea' from a customer asking for it. That doesn't mean you come into the conversation with a blank page - you still start with your initial product vision. You just iterate until someone is dying to pay you for it. Do it any other way here, and you'll miss most opportunities when the market moves on or someone else with funding does it before you. The same applies for building a demo without customer contact to get early stage funding - your time is better spent. This is not a place to pursue the kind of idea that you are talking about, unless you can break it down into a minimum viable product people will pay for very quickly. Fortunately many opportunities are not the kind you describe.
jhancock 17y ago
I began my first two companies in Atlanta in the early 90s. Both began as contracts for Big Blue. I had no legal counsel of my own. It was not in my client's interest to hamstring me with complex paperwork that allowed them to own my IP. They had paying clients that needed my software solutions. Large companies know they can't fill every piece of a large solution to their customers. Most are happy to allow little guys to "fill the cracks".
- rjurney 17y ago
  My god sir, we NEED you. We need you to tell this story. We need to learn from you. Please contact me. I want you in front of a room full of people telling this story. russell.jurney at gmail.com
- startuplounge 17y ago
  I agree with Russell ... want to come on the StartupLounge.com podcast and talk about it? Let me know ... scott at startuplounge.com

rjurney 17y ago

I don't really disagree with you. If you have a revolutionary idea in a city like Atlanta, and you are determined to build it without customer contact - you should probably move to Silicon Valley. As one VC I interviewed in my research, Mike Maples put it, "Silicon Valley is the place to create 'Thuderlizards,' but you can build a great company anywhere." Most startups, however, have bad ideas, so keeping them secret doesn't help anyone. PG has talked about this repeatedly. Usually your 'Big Idea' turns out to either be total shite, is different enough from what customers want that they won't buy it in its initial form, or the market for your product is not the one you expected. So as a non-attorney, I can't possibly disagree with you. As an entrepreneur, I know in my GUTS that the key to succeeding here is to get your 'Big Idea' from a customer asking for it. That doesn't mean you come into the conversation with a blank page - you still start with your initial product vision. You just iterate until someone is dying to pay you for it. Do it any other way here, and you'll miss most opportunities when the market moves on or someone else with funding does it before you. The same applies for building a demo without customer contact to get early stage funding - your time is better spent. This is not a place to pursue the kind of idea that you are talking about, unless you can break it down into a minimum viable product people will pay for very quickly. Fortunately many opportunities are not the kind you describe.

jhancock 17y ago

I began my first two companies in Atlanta in the early 90s. Both began as contracts for Big Blue. I had no legal counsel of my own. It was not in my client's interest to hamstring me with complex paperwork that allowed them to own my IP. They had paying clients that needed my software solutions. Large companies know they can't fill every piece of a large solution to their customers. Most are happy to allow little guys to "fill the cracks".

rjurney 17y ago
My god sir, we NEED you. We need you to tell this story. We need to learn from you. Please contact me. I want you in front of a room full of people telling this story. russell.jurney at gmail.com
startuplounge 17y ago
I agree with Russell ... want to come on the StartupLounge.com podcast and talk about it? Let me know ... scott at startuplounge.com