171–180 of 637 posts
That's bad for sure.
However, most "Oauth2 flow" documentation pages look like that. They all have a table that's basically copied out of the Oauth2 spec. They all have very similar language.
This is a good thing. Oauth2 is a well defined spec, and there just isn't a lot of ambiguity there.
If it weren't for the copied random state, I'd shrug this off.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Bessemer & Co. likely know that Otonomo is building a drop-in replacement copy of Smartcar's API. I'm not sure there's anything terribly controversial about that, although reasonable people may disagree. Bessemer & Co. probably don't know that the docs are literally being copied though.
A literal copy would show up during tech DD. If they did not flag it that's their problem, if they did flag it it is still their problem.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
How is it possible?
You will need additional hardware in the car to achieve this. Smartcar just does a really thorough job of hiding this fact. AFAIK the is not a single car manufacturer (not even Tesla) that has any API available. Most cars don't have internet connectivity anyway. Disclosure: I do NOT work for Smartcar, but have build multiple backends for P2P carsharing and bike rental platforms.
This is patently false. Smartcar does not require additional hardware. Quoting from their product page:
> Our API works with the embedded telematics module built into most new vehicles. No need for aftermarket hardware like OBD2 dongles.
That is pretty egregious, and its also par for the course. And that is why startup companies go through all the hoops of being "stealth" and having NDAs and what not. There was a German VC firm that was, as I recall, very upfront about this. Clone a successful US company before it got to the European market. On the one hand it is great to have validation of the idea, on the other its a pain to have someone with more…
There was a German VC firm that was, as I recall, very upfront about this. Clone a successful US company before it got to the European market. The Chinese also do this. (As in, the government seems to encourage it outright.) The culture and language barrier do make for an effective moat. It usually takes significant effort and even some cultural change for a company to get its legs for international operation.
You mean "Chinese companies". "The chinese" is just racist.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
A literal copy would show up during tech DD. If they did not flag it that's their problem, if they did flag it it is still their problem.
How do we know that the investment predates the public api documentation?
It does raise an interesting question though: how will the OP prove that their work is the original, that might hinge on a lot of unknowns, more difficult still if the work was originally lifted by an employee of the company and then passed on to Otonomo with them being the unwitting recipients.
That is pretty egregious, and its also par for the course. And that is why startup companies go through all the hoops of being "stealth" and having NDAs and what not. There was a German VC firm that was, as I recall, very upfront about this. Clone a successful US company before it got to the European market. On the one hand it is great to have validation of the idea, on the other its a pain to have someone with more…
>The reality is that if an idea is really good, the people who came up with it know it better than anyone and that gives them a tremendous advantage in terms of knowing what is important and what isn't. I have to disagree with you emphasizing this point. If someone/entity manages to get your idea or code, they may be able to sell the solution at a fraction of the cost since their R&D was lower than yours. When the en…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Bessemer & Co. would not spend this kind of money without doing DD to the point where their competitive review would have snagged the OP's efforts. So most likely they know.
> without doing DD It's a Series A, serious DD doesn't usually happen this early and a jr. analyst with a finance background wouldn't catch something like this.
https://otonomo.io/pr/otonomo-announces-25-million-strategic...
And even then, series 'A' requires DD as much (and sometimes more so) as later rounds.
This almost scares me away from even trying to start a business - I have no idea how to compete if someone with more money tries to steal it. It seems the solutions are: 1. Do some accelerator to get connections and money. 2. Just do it and hope you don't get stomped.
I'm soon to be jumping into a crowded market as well. Many of my competitors have had VC funding and do billions per year.
It doesn't bother me in the slightest. I can be far more nimble than they can. Doesn't matter if they try and stomp me. A bigger company will always do something in their own interests and piss off a segment of their customer base which means they will move eventually.
Not only that, because I don't have VC funding. I can always have lower prices CapEx and move it OpEx instead. As long as I am much lower costs compared to being with the incumbents then it's a better prospect cost wise to my customers.
Finally, better customer service, features, ease of use, pricing and roi to the customer is what matters at the end of the day. If you simply have a much better product and able to generate and retain trust in your user base. You'll be alright.
My advice. Just start the business today. Whether or not you get stomped on is neither here or there. What matters most is the experience you'll get vs in 5 years time when you wish you had started and still scared!
That is pretty egregious, and its also par for the course. And that is why startup companies go through all the hoops of being "stealth" and having NDAs and what not. There was a German VC firm that was, as I recall, very upfront about this. Clone a successful US company before it got to the European market. On the one hand it is great to have validation of the idea, on the other its a pain to have someone with more…
>The reality is that if an idea is really good, the people who came up with it know it better than anyone and that gives them a tremendous advantage in terms of knowing what is important and what isn't. I have to disagree with you emphasizing this point. If someone/entity manages to get your idea or code, they may be able to sell the solution at a fraction of the cost since their R&D was lower than yours. When the en…
We have a competitor who copies our features, but they don't know why we built the feature. The result is they end up copying the wrong stuff or tweaking the feature in a way that completely misses the point.
But, I agree with you in that creating a feature isn't an advantage in and of itself. Rather, it is the domain expertise that led to the creation of the feature that is the true advantage.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
There was a German VC firm that was, as I recall, very upfront about this. Clone a successful US company before it got to the European market. The Chinese also do this. (As in, the government seems to encourage it outright.) The culture and language barrier do make for an effective moat. It usually takes significant effort and even some cultural change for a company to get its legs for international operation.
> The Chinese You mean "Chinese companies". "The chinese" is just racist.