Re:Ask HN: What valuable insight did you arrive at in 2017?
by mindcrime on Wednesday December 27, 2017 @11:23PM
(#16020296)
Any plan that starts with "let's summon a demon" is probably a bad idea.
On a more serious note... from a startup perspective, if you have a prospect that you're working with, and they ask for changes in your product as a condition to moving forward, get something from them in return before spending a lot of time on said changes (unless they were truly in the "we would have done that anyway" category). Either ask them to pay for the changes (even if it's a nominal fee) or sign a non-binding letter of intent to purchase your product, etc. If nothing else, this helps avoid the situation where you waste a lot of time making changes to suit a particular prospect, and then wind up with no deal to show for it.
Plus, if you're in a situation where you're trying to raise money, having a paying customer or at least the LOI, can be useful to help show investors that you are "for real".
Even better, depending on how nominal you make the "nominal fee" the money could actually be useful.
If, OTOH, the prospect isn't onboard with doing something like this, it's a sign they might not be serious and you might want to reconsider the whole thing.
And finally... most Internet arguments are a complete waste of time and there's no real reason to not simply walk away. If you're arguing, say, politics or something, and it's obvious that the discussion really isn't benefiting anybody, feel free to just quit replying. Don't worry about getting "the last word" or any of that shit. Just quit. If it helps, ask yourself "is this conversation helping me make any money?" If the answer is no, then walk away. Or whatever conditions work for you.
On a more serious note... from a startup perspective, if you have a prospect that you're working with, and they ask for changes in your product as a condition to moving forward, get something from them in return before spending a lot of time on said changes (unless they were truly in the "we would have done that anyway" category). Either ask them to pay for the changes (even if it's a nominal fee) or sign a non-binding letter of intent to purchase your product, etc. If nothing else, this helps avoid the situation where you waste a lot of time making changes to suit a particular prospect, and then wind up with no deal to show for it.
Plus, if you're in a situation where you're trying to raise money, having a paying customer or at least the LOI, can be useful to help show investors that you are "for real".
Even better, depending on how nominal you make the "nominal fee" the money could actually be useful.
If, OTOH, the prospect isn't onboard with doing something like this, it's a sign they might not be serious and you might want to reconsider the whole thing.
And finally... most Internet arguments are a complete waste of time and there's no real reason to not simply walk away. If you're arguing, say, politics or something, and it's obvious that the discussion really isn't benefiting anybody, feel free to just quit replying. Don't worry about getting "the last word" or any of that shit. Just quit. If it helps, ask yourself "is this conversation helping me make any money?" If the answer is no, then walk away. Or whatever conditions work for you.