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31 October 2007

Comments

christopher carfi

great post, and the t. peters quote is absoLUTEly spot-on. -c

Mary Schmidt

Or, in this case, "Good fences DON'T make for good neighbors."

The landscape is littered with people who thought patents were the be-all, end-all. Then they couldn't get funding (sure, a patent is good, but how are you going to commercialize it?); they couldn't get past prototype stage (things that work in the lab often break and burn in the real world); or a larger, lawyered-up company stole their idea - and the start-up didn't have the money to fight.

I've also worked with clients that were so afraid someone would steal their idea, they wouldn't tell a VC or anybody else why they should care about the idea, much less fund or buy it.

Somebody else can always "do what you do" in some form or fashion. The only thing they can't duplicate is you and your relationships.

Mary Schmidt

Or, in this case, "Good fences DON'T make for good neighbors."

The landscape is littered with people who thought patents were the be-all, end-all. Then they couldn't get funding (sure, a patent is good, but how are you going to commercialize it?); they couldn't get past prototype stage (things that work in the lab often break and burn in the real world); or a larger, lawyered-up company stole their idea - and the start-up didn't have the money to fight.

I've also worked with clients that were so afraid someone would steal their idea, they wouldn't tell a VC or anybody else why they should care about the idea, much less fund or buy it.

Somebody else can always "do what you do" in some form or fashion. The only thing they can't duplicate is you and your relationships.

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