Re: FN-FORUM: To give up or not?

date posted 16th August 2005 12:06

Thanks for the advice.

I'm currrently putting a very carefully worded email together, and
will be sending it to Vital before the end of the week. I cannot
imagine that they don't have alternative sites that they are also
exploring.

I've heard good things about Aura, and it's the excitement of
exploring new technologies and partnerships that spur me on. Giving up
most control of the site would leave me .. um, redundant. ;)


On 15 Aug 2005 19:45:19 -0000, Jeremy Aston
[EMAIL REMOVED] wrote:
>=20
> Hi Jonathan,
>=20
> I think that sounds good advice. You have to ask yourself what Vital
> are after. It could be they really like your site, see it as worthy of
> inclusion on their network and will be very supportive of you and your
> ideas for development. On the other hand it may be that they have an
> alternative offering and they are simply buying you out to take you out
> of the picture, maybe even using the technology you have developed to
> drive other sites.
>=20
> To be frank I should shutup cos I don't really know anything about the
> deal however what I do know is that I have been in the situation of
> jumping at seemingly good offers and then realising that I've been to
> hasty and could ha negotiated a better deal. Mamading is right - if
> Vital are really interested they will be open to negotiation and,
> whilst not wanting to wind them up, you should not be scared of taking
> a little time to consider your options.
>=20
> Just my ramblings...
>=20
> jez
>=20
>=20
> On 15 Aug 2005, at 20:02, Mamading Ceesay wrote:
>=20
> >
> > On 15 Aug 2005 18:35:37 -0000, Jonathan Chong [EMAIL REMOVED]
> > wrote:
> >>
> >> Any advice you seasoned heads can shove my way would be much
> >> appreciated.
> >>
> >
> > I think you need to carefully assess your values, goals and priorities.
> >
> > If you are just in it for the money, take the Vital deal. However, it
> > seems you value your independence, having control and in a sense it's
> > your hobby. If that's truly the case and you aren't actually hard up
> > for cash (since you have a day job), you are in a position to walk
> > away from Vital and explore the Aura situation, whether or not the
> > Aura thing works out, at least you will have your independence.
> >
> > If Vital persist and are truly interested, then you could make a
> > counter proposal that is more of a partnership/alliance rather than
> > what seems to be a takeover. In that scenario, you keep full
> > editorial and technical control of the site and the hosting, perhaps
> > take a smaller cut and retain the option to dissolve the partnership
> > if it doesn't work out with all rights over the site remaining with
> > you. This approach would need effective negotiation skills on your
> > part and you will probably need a lawyer to go over the fine print.
> >
> > --
> > Mamading Ceesay
> >
> > "Someone who proposes to run Windows on servers ought to be prepared
> > to explain what they know about servers that Google and Yahoo don't
> > know."
> > -- Paul Graham
> >
> > --
> > Freelancers, contractors earn more with Prosperity4
> > Call 0870 870 4414 or visit www.prosperity4.com
> > and benefit from Inland Revenue approved expenses today.
> >
> > To advertise here: http://www.freelancers.net/advertising.html
> >
> >
> --
> Freelancers, contractors earn more with Prosperity4
> Call 0870 870 4414 or visit www.prosperity4.com
> and benefit from Inland Revenue approved expenses today.
>=20
> To advertise here: http://www.freelancers.net/advertising.html
>=20
>