Eh, it's the start of a negotiation. It "gets the mule's attention", and if they were thinking of giving you single digits of equity as I gather is not uncommon you've saved yourself time.
It also demands respect. They may not give it to you, but if something actually happens you'll be starting on the right foot, and the author claims this does not turn everyone who approaches him off.
It also gets the big issues right out there: how much is an idea and anything else they're bringing to the table worth vs. how much is the technical effort to make it live.
My point was that if you feel like your value as a technical person is worth more than the business person who has approached you (>50%) then you shouldn't bother. Between their experience, their idea, their connections, their money, etc. they should at least equal your value or you are in trouble regardless of how the equity breaks down. Negotiations are a different topic.
Comments
Eh, it's the start of a negotiation. It "gets the mule's attention", and if they were thinking of giving you single digits of equity as I gather is not uncommon you've saved yourself time.
It also demands respect. They may not give it to you, but if something actually happens you'll be starting on the right foot, and the author claims this does not turn everyone who approaches him off.
It also gets the big issues right out there: how much is an idea and anything else they're bringing to the table worth vs. how much is the technical effort to make it live.
My point was that if you feel like your value as a technical person is worth more than the business person who has approached you (>50%) then you shouldn't bother. Between their experience, their idea, their connections, their money, etc. they should at least equal your value or you are in trouble regardless of how the equity breaks down. Negotiations are a different topic.
The negotiation only started when one party said "no".