> I drafted up an agreement for both of us to sign,... and gave her the code for free.
You did WHAT?!
Should I sign this agreement?
11–20 of 54 posts
Re: Should I sign this agreement?
#12> My co-creator, an EMBA student, and I are taking the course as a way to iterate through our product and process. She is in charge of the business model, and I am doing the coding. Our professors urged everyone to start talking about equity splitting as soon as possible; and my co-creator had a really simple answer to that: "I should have 100%," she said. That sounds like a bad deal already. Good thing he didn't sig…
Hell, even giving 50% to someone who only has an "idea" to bring to the table is ridiculous. It sounds like he put in MUCH more effort because she didn't even prepare for their meetings. Then what DID she do?
Re: Should I sign this agreement?
#13I want to know why walking away from such a toxic deal made this developer feel like that would make them the bad guy in the partnership. It seems like the other party wanted everything and was giving nothing in return. I was disappointed to read the developer gave the code away in the end.
Things are complicated when you're dealing with actual people as opposed to hearing about it second hand.
You're right we are hearing one side of a story, but we can only go on the information we have. The co-creator wanted all of the product, and wanted to give nothing in return, and never really wanted to be a partner in the project but use the developer for unpaid work since it would be a learning experience.
Anecdotally I've turned down many projects in the past of a similar nature. "Do this X or Y for me for free I'll tell everyone what a great job you did and it will bring you more work!" "The experience and education you get from working on this is payment enough."
I've dealt with actual people in these situations, and this developer isn't the bad guy. There are no bad guys or good guys in business. This is one business partner taking advantage of the other. The developer should have never signed anything, used the project for their class, and not hand over any right to the code since no exchange of value for it was made.
@xarien, I couldn't reply again to you, but I wanted to say you're absolutely right about guilt being very complex, and to thank you for clarifying your thoughts. Guilt and me go way back as I'm sure it does with most folks. (^_^)b
Re: Should I sign this agreement?
#14You definitely weren't the 'bad guy' in this relationship. If anything, it looks like you were being taken advantage of. People deserve to be compensated (somehow) for their work - and it's somewhat clear to me that this wasn't going to be the case in your situation.
On the other hand - if you did want to be a consultant, there are different things at play. First, the NDA. NDAs cover only the disclosure aspects, nothing else. Next there's an MSA - Master Services Agreement. The MSA covers the method by which services are to be delivered, and the contractual obligations around them. It's important to separate the two, as typically an NDA's lifespan is significantly longer than an MSA (i.e. after you're doing with a client, the NDA continues to live for 6-12 months).
There's absolutely nothing wrong with discontinuing a partnership that isn't working. It's a hard thing to do, you feel like you're letting people down, but you're not. The reality of the situation is that a partnership is just that - a partnership. If it's not good for both sides, then it's not a partnership, plain and simple.
tl;dr - Get compensated for your work, and put yourself first - no one else will.
Re: Should I sign this agreement?
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
Things are complicated when you're dealing with actual people as opposed to hearing about it second hand.
You're right we are hearing one side of a story, but we can only go on the information we have. The co-creator wanted all of the product, and wanted to give nothing in return, and never really wanted to be a partner in the project but use the developer for unpaid work since it would be a learning experience. Anecdotally I've turned down many projects in the past of a similar nature. "Do this X or Y for me for free I'…
I don't disagree one bit, only pointing out that feelings such as guilt are extremely complicated. I remember the first time I had to let someone go (was a friend too). It was the hardest damn thing to do and I let it drag on for months...
Re: Should I sign this agreement?
#16The big lesson here is to sort this out before you start coding.
I have an MBA and I write code. In my experience, coders overvalue their contributions and business guys overvalue theirs. But in the end, the business guys usually win. You have to think like a business guy.
When I do contract code, I'm under no illusion that I am a critical piece of the business. In fact, the only thing that has any sort of ability to lock me in is typically that switching costs are high- developers hard to find and it's expensive to get a new one up to speed.
That's just the way things are. If you're not an integral part of the business, you are replaceable.
Re: Should I sign this agreement?
#17> I drafted up an agreement for both of us to sign,... and gave her the code for free. You did WHAT?!
I was similarly appalled by this - but reflecting on it further, it was probably the easiest way out. Sounds like at that point, he just wanted rid of the whole project.
Re: Should I sign this agreement?
#18why did you give her the code for free? you should have charged her for it
Re: Should I sign this agreement?
#19It's generally a bit taboo to directly address dominance in social interactions, but you were manipulated into doing and then handing over work for nothing in return.
You were successfully made to believe you would be the bad guy for walking away when nothing could have been farther from the truth.
You worked, for nothing, on a project which belonged wholly to someone else, and they didn't even bother to turn up for project meetings.
There's often a big disconnect between people's superficial behaviour and their genuine intent, and you have to learn to read the signals which tell you the difference.
This episode might have been unpleasant but could be a cheap lesson if you learn the right things from it.
Re: Should I sign this agreement?
#20If it's any consolation, the odds that your "co-creator", if the business practices she has displayed thus far are any indication, makes something noteworthy or profitable out of your project, seem very low.