> > But suppose on the other hand that you've already developed software
> > for a vertical market, it's eaten your bank account, and you have no > > money left to pay for marketing - what do you do then? > > It's a legitimate question. I have worked with clients who > have "run out of runway" while launching what should be a > profit-making project. They would have been grateful if I > could take on the project at no cost, under a promissory > note, or with long payback terms. The best deal is when you > can promise a developer some percentage of future returns, > often a percentage you can dilute to nothing should the > business ever make a profit. > > > Take this guy http://www.trackum.net/projects.htm for an example. He > > says "Your only responsibility will be to maintain the source code. We > > will market the product, support it, and send you a royalty check > > every month." > > > > Is this a scam? > > Maybe, maybe not. It would require an investigation of his > customers, due diligence on how he conducts his business. In > a sentence, this guy buys vertical-niche apps and markets and > resells them. If he's on the up-and-up, at the least you'll > want to be able to audit his sales, or perhaps track the > installations of your app yourself. Bear in mind that the > terms are likely that you are giving up any ownership of the > application, in exchange for a (small) percentage of sales > that leave him with a healthy profit margin to cover his > expenses and risks. You're probably also still responsiblefor > tech support costs, too. Lots to consider. If you've seen his sparse website, you may have noticed that he doesn't talk about owning the product or even that the deal is exclusive, but the cynical part of me says you're right and that's he's just another shark (because if he weren't, he would be very up front about this part). But this is why I've asked. What I was hoping to hear is that some people here do have deals with marketers and they are happy with the situation. The situation with me - and I imagine yourself and others who have actually created products with VFP - is that 90% of the effort is in the infrastructure/framework, and the specific niche small business applications created using this framework are almost after-thoughts by comparison. I've spent several years on the framework and 3 months on a small business specific application using it (a lawn sprinkler service company being the case in point). To think that I'd have to transfer ownership of the framework just to get this one application to market is totally beyond reason. Maybe I'm still being naïve, but this does beg the question of who among us has a working arrangement with a VFP-savvy marketing company who understands how our world works and is willing to deal with us on an application specific - not framework, and not exclusive - basis? Dream on, huh? :) Bill > Ted Roche > Ted Roche & Associates, LLC > http://www.tedroche.com _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[EMAIL PROTECTED] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
