4 ms·
"hey have been looking at offering a service/product similar to ours" - that's called a competitor... and they can do whatever they want with your IP - patents
by bbunix 12y ago
"hey have been looking at offering a service/product similar to ours" - that's called a competitor... and they can do whatever they want with your IP - patents or not - you're gonna sue them? Good luck with that, they'll bury you.
I'd finish the product, launch, then talk. Your value isn't going down between now and then, and this is just a distraction.
Just say 'see you on launch day, bring a check".
Background story - we sold our 2 person company (Big Brother) to BigCo (Quest Software)... little did I know that our free product was killing the sales of their $50K a pop product... ohhhh... so that's why they were so interested....
- dmfdmf 12y agoThis is the best answer so far. Tell them, politely, to get lost and take it as a sign you are on the right track. It is time to damn the torpedoes, full-steam ahead. They are either ahead of you or behind you and that is what they are trying to find out. If they are ahead and you have no unique tech then you are toast anyway. If they are behind they are weighing buying you to jump the line for Y dollars or investing X dollars to catch up. Why help them make that calculation? Make them sweat. If you have any confidence in what you are doing then stick with it and don't be distracted by BigCo.