4 ms·

Someone Stole My Startup Idea – Part 1: Are Those My Initials?

79 points by nathanh 17y ago

vaksel 17y ago
link bait title, it's not his startup idea that got stolen, just a slide out of his presentation.
- pxlpshr 17y ago
  i think strategy is more important than an idea because it's more closely associated to execution and the high-level direction of the company, so i don't think it's necessarily link bait per say. the 'idea' seeds the direction but eventually becomes second to strategy. correct me if i'm wrong but that's been my interpretation of the relationship.
- kylemathews 17y ago
  And this is part 1. He said the idea that got stolen here was relatively minor. Part 2 is a story about a more serious case.
  - nvn1 17y ago
    It's more of a 'link-bait-and-switch' title.
mahmud 17y ago
Examining the slide, I pointed to the bottom right and said to our translator, “Tell him my initials are still on the bottom.” The interpreter’s face went white, and after a lot of “I can’t tell him that,” he did. Perhaps a business genius in the U.S., but certainly not in Asia, specially Japan. He gains nothing from calling someone out on their plagiarism, in their office, during business negotiations. In fact, he has everything to lose. There are far more subtle ways to exert yourself, and jumping out and crying foul is not one of them. Then he goes on to joke about Seppuku ..
- csbrooks 17y ago
  Perhaps, but I'm just not sure I would be able to let that stand, myself. And I tend to be a pretty calm and rational person. Anyway, I don't think he "screamed foul", he just pointed out a fact. If it's deeply embarrassing to the other party, that's because that embarrassment was richly deserved, in nearly any culture.
  - patio11 17y ago
    I have asked foreign clients the following question many, many times: in case they come into conflict, would you prefer me to choose the path which preserves your ego or your business interests? Most get the hint. (A close variation of the line works on Japanese people, too.)
    - clistctrl 17y ago
      you must be good
    - mahmud 17y ago
      In China I could be as frank as I needed to be with the business owners, they get it. But everyone beneath them had to be dealt with via signals and customs. Same in the middle-east. It's an elaborate ceremony, communicating via intermediaries and exchanging pleasantries at dinners and formal gatherings, but as soon as you climb the ego ladder and reach the highest stakeholder you can drop ritual and say "dude, we're fucked". Sometimes you reach a very beneficial and logical agreement with The Man, then thinkup ways to rationalize it and explain it to the role-playing minions below him. Tradition and bureaucracy are often abused by selfish and incompetent people to keep status. (Once you reach the C-level contact, I recommend that you don't cut off his aides and minions; treat them as you have treated them before, when you needed access to him, that way they will not consider you a threat. As an exercise, go back to them for a few more "favors" and let them shake you up for bottles of scotch, it makes them feel in control, and when the boss has future plans with you, they "know" they will be treated.)
    - Poiesis 17y ago
      (A close variation of the line works in non-business interpersonal relationships, too.)
lsb 17y ago
bit.ly stole TinyURL's startup idea! It's the execution that matters.
- scott_s 17y ago
  That's the mantra around here, yes. The article's author knows that mantra, and assumes his reader does, too.
patio11 17y ago
The interpreter’s face went white, and after a lot of “I can’t tell him that,” he did. I used to work as a translator/interpreter, among other duties, at a technology incubator in central Japan. Technical interpreters are expensive -- the best have hourly rates comparable to lawyers. They are paid that much because they bring in far more than their hourly in business deals saved from disastrous miscommunication. If your interpreter is trying to wave you off a topic, you might consider taking the advice you are paying so dearly for. (Incidentally, we're told that the canon of professional ethics requires translating every word without failure, so "You really don't want to say that!" should be a pretty big red flag to you that you are about to step in something.)
- jonny_noog 17y ago
  I can't say I would have done any differently than he did, putting myself in his situation, regardless of the interpreter's advice. Handle the situation with as much diplomacy as possible once the issue has been brought up, sure. But I'll be fucked if I'm going to sit in a meeting while the presenter uses my slide containing a "chart I had laboured over for months" to illustrate his company's strategy, while passing it off as their own. "We weren’t sure if we should feel insulted or complimented, but after a few deep breaths (and a lot of kicking under the table by my head of business development) my smart VP of business development used it as an opportunity to point out how honored we were that there was an obvious strategic alignment between the two companies." And there's an example of the diplomacy I was speaking of. I'd be fine putting a spin like that on it if required, for the sake of maintaining the relationship. But no way would I sit there and smile without saying a word.
  - ErrantX 17y ago
    Im not sure I agree to be honest; indeed it looks like salvaging the situation rather than diplomacy. In that situation they handled it really poorly and both sides lost an incredibly amount of face. My understanding of cultural stuff in Asia is above average but not complete: I do know enough, though, to say that a continued business relationship was an incredibly lucky outcome all round.
known 17y ago
I think ideas cannot be stolen.
pronoiac 17y ago
Part 2 is up, & here's the article on it: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=981167 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=981167

79 points by nathanh 17y ago

vaksel 17y ago

link bait title, it's not his startup idea that got stolen, just a slide out of his presentation.

pxlpshr 17y ago
i think strategy is more important than an idea because it's more closely associated to execution and the high-level direction of the company, so i don't think it's necessarily link bait per say. the 'idea' seeds the direction but eventually becomes second to strategy. correct me if i'm wrong but that's been my interpretation of the relationship.
kylemathews 17y ago
And this is part 1. He said the idea that got stolen here was relatively minor. Part 2 is a story about a more serious case.
- nvn1 17y ago
  It's more of a 'link-bait-and-switch' title.

mahmud 17y ago

Examining the slide, I pointed to the bottom right and said to our translator, “Tell him my initials are still on the bottom.” The interpreter’s face went white, and after a lot of “I can’t tell him that,” he did. Perhaps a business genius in the U.S., but certainly not in Asia, specially Japan. He gains nothing from calling someone out on their plagiarism, in their office, during business negotiations. In fact, he has everything to lose. There are far more subtle ways to exert yourself, and jumping out and crying foul is not one of them. Then he goes on to joke about Seppuku ..

csbrooks 17y ago
Perhaps, but I'm just not sure I would be able to let that stand, myself. And I tend to be a pretty calm and rational person. Anyway, I don't think he "screamed foul", he just pointed out a fact. If it's deeply embarrassing to the other party, that's because that embarrassment was richly deserved, in nearly any culture.
- patio11 17y ago
  I have asked foreign clients the following question many, many times: in case they come into conflict, would you prefer me to choose the path which preserves your ego or your business interests? Most get the hint. (A close variation of the line works on Japanese people, too.)
  - clistctrl 17y ago
    you must be good
  - mahmud 17y ago
    In China I could be as frank as I needed to be with the business owners, they get it. But everyone beneath them had to be dealt with via signals and customs. Same in the middle-east. It's an elaborate ceremony, communicating via intermediaries and exchanging pleasantries at dinners and formal gatherings, but as soon as you climb the ego ladder and reach the highest stakeholder you can drop ritual and say "dude, we're fucked". Sometimes you reach a very beneficial and logical agreement with The Man, then thinkup ways to rationalize it and explain it to the role-playing minions below him. Tradition and bureaucracy are often abused by selfish and incompetent people to keep status. (Once you reach the C-level contact, I recommend that you don't cut off his aides and minions; treat them as you have treated them before, when you needed access to him, that way they will not consider you a threat. As an exercise, go back to them for a few more "favors" and let them shake you up for bottles of scotch, it makes them feel in control, and when the boss has future plans with you, they "know" they will be treated.)
  - Poiesis 17y ago
    (A close variation of the line works in non-business interpersonal relationships, too.)

lsb 17y ago

bit.ly stole TinyURL's startup idea! It's the execution that matters.

scott_s 17y ago
That's the mantra around here, yes. The article's author knows that mantra, and assumes his reader does, too.

patio11 17y ago

The interpreter’s face went white, and after a lot of “I can’t tell him that,” he did. I used to work as a translator/interpreter, among other duties, at a technology incubator in central Japan. Technical interpreters are expensive -- the best have hourly rates comparable to lawyers. They are paid that much because they bring in far more than their hourly in business deals saved from disastrous miscommunication. If your interpreter is trying to wave you off a topic, you might consider taking the advice you are paying so dearly for. (Incidentally, we're told that the canon of professional ethics requires translating every word without failure, so "You really don't want to say that!" should be a pretty big red flag to you that you are about to step in something.)

jonny_noog 17y ago
I can't say I would have done any differently than he did, putting myself in his situation, regardless of the interpreter's advice. Handle the situation with as much diplomacy as possible once the issue has been brought up, sure. But I'll be fucked if I'm going to sit in a meeting while the presenter uses my slide containing a "chart I had laboured over for months" to illustrate his company's strategy, while passing it off as their own. "We weren’t sure if we should feel insulted or complimented, but after a few deep breaths (and a lot of kicking under the table by my head of business development) my smart VP of business development used it as an opportunity to point out how honored we were that there was an obvious strategic alignment between the two companies." And there's an example of the diplomacy I was speaking of. I'd be fine putting a spin like that on it if required, for the sake of maintaining the relationship. But no way would I sit there and smile without saying a word.
- ErrantX 17y ago
  Im not sure I agree to be honest; indeed it looks like salvaging the situation rather than diplomacy. In that situation they handled it really poorly and both sides lost an incredibly amount of face. My understanding of cultural stuff in Asia is above average but not complete: I do know enough, though, to say that a continued business relationship was an incredibly lucky outcome all round.

known 17y ago

I think ideas cannot be stolen.

pronoiac 17y ago

Part 2 is up, & here's the article on it: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=981167 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=981167