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Advice needed: "friend" stole my idea...what to do?

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Re: Advice needed: "friend" stole my idea...what to do?

#91

If its any consolation, Google announced plans to emulate a lot of the functionality planned for our new email client, Litepost, days after we started announcing and exploring our ideas with the public and users: http://mail.google.com/support/bin/request.py?contact_type=suggest I'm not saying they ripped us of course (who could possibly prove that?) but I will say that the timing is awfully coincidental, given that…

(warning: sorry, off-topic a bit here...) hey nathan - glad to find you on here. (it's Shanti) I've been meaning to tell you... is your model a hosted one? One space that Google (nor Sprout) will ever dominate is a software model where you allow clients to install your app on their own servers or VPSes. (i.e. a JumpBox) Clients then get the best of both worlds: 1) Your killer UI 2) Privacy/Security/Control of their c…

Hey Shanti- glad to find you here as well! :)

Yes this is along the same lines of what I am thinking recently too. It has become impossible to compete with Google 'on their own terms' (so to speak). So why not just tilt the gameboard a little bit, change the turf, even the playing field back out a little bit? :) (Pardon the worn cliches.)

But seriously, on a related note, here's a very recent article partially addressing this topic: Read/Write Web interviewing Google's open source chieftain (Chris DiBona): http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/interview_with_4.php

Re: Advice needed: "friend" stole my idea...what to do?

#92

In order to stealyour idea you first must have owned it. Thing is, ideas cannot be owned, patnents (processes) can. In conclusion, no one stole a thing from you.

Process patents won't help if someone who is in a sane country where such daft ideas aren't countenanced wants to copy the idea.

Re: Advice needed: "friend" stole my idea...what to do?

#93
post #7

Back in Jan I went to a person well respected in the startup community (PG knows her) in BOS. She was a friend of a friend, I've known her for years..she previously had a high profile startup that crashed in the dotcom era. I wanted to bounce the idea off her and get her feedback. So I sent a presentation (marked confidential) and followed up with an hour long chat, which was helpful. She moved to the west coast the…

Doesn't help much, but one thing you can do is feel good that you have good ideas. The second thing you can do is launch a competitor immediately. If she's using an outsourcing firm and isn't actually doing the development herself you've got a huge advantage. Use it. I'd be willing to bet that since it was your idea, you have a much better understanding of the problem and how you're solving it than she does. Use that…

Once it's launched, contact the same blogs that she has and say look we've already started, you don't need to wait.

Force her to launch earlier than she wants to. The other thing I'd say is some 37Signals advice. Hold back some completed functionality at the time of launch. Release it in a week or twos time. Thus demonstrating that not only did you launch but you are constantly going to be ahead of her.

Finally, please use the anger judiciously. Instead of running her over, crush her spirit.

Re: Advice needed: "friend" stole my idea...what to do?

#94
I'am interrested in this story because I might find my self in the same situation. Here is the strategy I applied so far.

1. Keep key aspects secret. One always has to release some info, at least to get some feedback on the pertinence of the general idea or when we sell it. But keep some trump cards hidden in your pocket. This is often related to the 'how' aspect of the idea where you could make a difference with a "stealer".

2. Proceed in a way allowing you to prove that you shared the idea with X or Y. This is one of the purpose of an NDA (non disclosure agreement). If you can proove that, then you have a leverage on the stealer's investors because you may publish it and it will call back into question their honnesty and fairness. If they ripped you, they could rip clients. This is why public opinion frowns uppon stealing ideas even if it's not illegal.

3. If option 2 is not possible, then another leverage you have is that you can publish the idea and put the investors at risk to face many competitors and eventually freeware versions of it in a very short time. This is even more effective if the product is not out yet.

Be aware that you represent a direct threat to investment when comming up with such kind claim and want to use these leverages. So prepare your negation before using those leverages. This means that directly after presenting the problem to the investors, present the different options you have at hand. First present the options that would require some sort of cooperation from their side, second the only options left to you if they refuse (the one I presented above) and third that you are open to any other options that they may want to suggest and that would respect everybody's interrests.

Be aware that there are things that can't be undone and also that it is better to have half of something than all of nothing. You can remind this rule while argumenting your cause, but keep in mind that it applies to you too. So be ready to accept an arrangement if possible. Keep a very open mind about the options you will consider. For instance you could ask them to invest in another idea you might have, but be very carefull to not blackmail them into that. Just say that this would be an acceptable outcome for you if they agree to it and that you would then drop the case because you don't bite the hand that feeds you. Of course this suppose you have a valid alternate idea to show them when you say that. But be carefull with this because VC can easily get you out of your founded business if they want to. What you have to sell to VC is your capacity to create value by your inspiration or vision. This is what they are looking for.

There is alot more to say, but PG is much better than me at it.

Re: Advice needed: "friend" stole my idea...what to do?

#95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(warning: sorry, off-topic a bit here...) hey nathan - glad to find you on here. (it's Shanti) I've been meaning to tell you... is your model a hosted one? One space that Google (nor Sprout) will ever dominate is a software model where you allow clients to install your app on their own servers or VPSes. (i.e. a JumpBox) Clients then get the best of both worlds: 1) Your killer UI 2) Privacy/Security/Control of their c…

Hey Shanti- glad to find you here as well! :) Yes this is along the same lines of what I am thinking recently too. It has become impossible to compete with Google 'on their own terms' (so to speak). So why not just tilt the gameboard a little bit, change the turf, even the playing field back out a little bit? :) (Pardon the worn cliches.) But seriously, on a related note, here's a very recent article partially addres…

Nathan - yes, exactly.

I think there's a huge market for something like this.

Not to mention partnering up with other big boys in the space to leverage their networks / customers.

Re: Advice needed: "friend" stole my idea...what to do?

#96
post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If web development is so easy, why is the poster posting here instead of simply "whipping up" a competing application? Why do hundreds of kids bother applying to YCombinator? Can't they just whip up a webapp in a few months? Yes - web dev is easier than desktop app or complex client/server applications, but Hitting the High Notes (as Joel says) will never be "easy". Simple, yes. Easy, no.

Ok, let it be simple. My point is that Kawasaki is 100% right. If your idea can be so easily stolen, it probalby wasn't a great idea to begin with. Maybe it's that social networking aspect she is adding is actually what will make it successfull. Hate to sound negative though, having that happen to you surely hurts... And yes, kids apply to YCombinator exactly because they can whip up a web app in a few months. YCombi…

Right, but how good is their app after 3 months? Not very.

There are always exceptions to every rule though, re: the original point.

i.e. MySpace. Talk about crappy technology (or so it would seem; they've managed to scale well), and a has-run idea.

Re: Advice needed: "friend" stole my idea...what to do?

#100
post #28

Leverage the 53,651 meme to your advantage: contact all the Web 2.0 startup sites (Techcrunch, GigaOm, Webware, etc.) and tell them that her service is a rip-off of your idea.

If the original poster has his service out when he does this, it could end up being both very bad PR for her and very good PR for him. In fact, her ripping off his idea could end up being better publicity than he would've gotten anywhere else.

Future investors hate the idea of IP conflict like this.

If the accusation is public knowledge, she'll have a difficult time raising a second round.

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