this makes a big difference from 'just an idea'. I would do two things:
1) offer them some equity based upon what would have been fairly vested (you will have to negotiate this, but start with room to get to "fair" but not insultingly low. base it upon hours invested)
2) offer them a chance to invest cash in your new venture so that the 'idea' can live on with a dedicated team and some cash resource. im assuming that they just lost interest or don't have the time, but may have cash.
B2B deals can be closed on the phone.
For B2C, you can always put on your contact form that all emails are read and that you will respond within 12 hours and usually within X hours. Every time we (PlantMyPhone.com) responds instantly, people are quite amazed and tend to blog about it. This has happened with other startups I have ran also. It helps to be a bit A.D.D. and feel the urge to instantly respond. When things start to get a bit hectic you should start using a CRM system so no customer gets dropped.
Can we turn this into a 'What isn't Google trying to build and why?" thread. That way entrepreneurs don't have to rethink from scratch this every time (investors tend to ask this question).
1) get them to show you a big list of pre-sold clients....then discount that by 10x
2) contact a few of these clients and see if they would be hooked on it like crack
3) use 1 and 3 to estimate the value
4) demand control of the price at the end. if the service is a loss leader for your partner, you can make them pay the price. remember that value created does not equate to value captured.
5) create milestones: ie 'you sell $X in Y months OR you give me your client list and I KEEP all rights to the tech and brand'
This seems like the standard gloom and doom article that is easy for journalists to publish for an audience looking for an enemy to hate on.
Energy efficiency and end-user economic efficiency can be separated. The simplest way would be to tax the fuels and use those funds to subsidize the financing or purchase of efficient equipment.
The article is stretching arguments too far. The savings of money do not necessarily get applied to more energy intensive purchases. They have no data to back their argument up. Those savings could be applied to renewable energy investments...then electricity is almost free and not scarce/finite.
I concur with the rest that say don't get a lawyer too soon, but that you do need one if things get serious. The key questions to consider are:
1) have they proven that they are serious? Sometimes they are just fishing for competitive information or trying to steal code (don't get all paranoid and defensive, but be smart, don't show code. Show efficacy). Make them prove that your company and tech is specifically what they need and that they have a cash ready to pay. If they say ‘well, we can get money to buy you’ then I’d be suspicious.
2) What is the company worth to YOU? Its not just about cash, but is the offer of employment something positive or negative to you? Then ask yourself what the company is worth to THEM. Do they need this badly and can’t do it themselves? Or is your tech one of several vendors they can buy? There can be a large difference how you two value your company.
3) Consider your alternatives such as the following: keep going on your own, ask them to license the tech from you, ask them to invest in you, charge them for consulting
4) Consider their options: are there others to acquire and is the industry in consolidation mode right now where if you don't get acquired you loose your chance.
5) Overall DO NOT SHOW THEM CODE unless they buy it or license it or put up cash in escrow with an escrow entity that YOU choose. If they are buying tech, you can offer to let them test it out for efficacy. Seeing code does not prove efficacy. In the final due diligence of a deal they can inspect the code or you can mutually agree to a 3rd party inspecting the code.