I think the question also needs to be is this so mission critical that they need 30 minute response time?
If not a 4 or 8 or 24 hour response time during the week is a much more realistic way for you to cover them or leverage this to bring on the second person.
I started with LinkedIn only connecting with people that I had met personally. Then potentially expanding to people I had conversation.
I found that I was just getting a lot of the same posts and it was a lot of groupthink.
Then I started connecting with people I hadn't met. It's significantly expanded the conversations and perspectives I'm getting.
Expanding the reach of my posts/views and the value of the network I bring.
This has helped in being seen by many as an expert. Also the value of the posts. I've had multiple clients reach out to engage in work that I had never met in person.
For me connecting and conversing with people in the same industry brings a lot of value to myself and the industry as a whole.
Connecting people across the globe into one feed has become the new idea of LinkedIn for me.
You've managed to build something that has brought in $120k without investing dollars into outreach. Then you've invested it into (assumably) hardware.
You've got a business with some value to it.
I don't know what you're making, but industrial is my space. If you'd like to drop me an email, I'd be happy to take a look at what you're making and give you some thoughts, potentially some introductions. Dave @ Capelin.io
I don't consider what I'm currently doing "tech". I think of that much more in the startup game, VC funding, and FAANG.
Generally I'm filling a consulting role. Mainly in the product development/launch phases. I will do a small number of Project Roadmapping/Architecture's every year and then PM those.
I find big problems and then help solve them. As my career has progressed, I worry less about the buckets that it falls into.
All of these things are fairly common in the RFP process. Not that going to find somewhere to print and FedEx on a Saturday morning isn't always fun...
One suggestion I would offer for future RFP's is to call/meet/show up for the pre-bid meeting. In person is always better if/when that happens again for your industry.
Most of the time, they will tell you about preferred vendors list. Or explain how they are going to go about making decisions. You can also tell who they know at the meeting.
At some point I decided that's now how I want to spend my life. I've spent the last year's in manufacturing. Mainly building software/hardware stacks to become more efficient. Understand where they are currently. How they can increase capacity and ideally jobs. Plus work on helping to train workers using 21st century techniques.
Much of it is an uphill battle within the industry or companies.
The ability to be part of something that helps to physically make food/beverage/products is more fulfilling.
This is not too far off from what I'm working towards.
I'm less worried about the community aspect and more so the sustainability and open spaces. Allowing birds, native animals, and everything else we can bring to allow room to roam.
If you're going down this route and would like some input, I'd be happy to talk.
We've spent the last 4+ years traveling and living in a vintage bus and van.
Pen Addict- one of my longest running must listens. I get an hour a week of people I've known online talking pens and to some extent many things analog. I spent a lot of time writing on paper and with fountain pens. It's very cathartic.
Small Town Murder- a couple of comedians from Phoenix prove that they know nothing about small towns, agriculture, or geography. What they do have is a couple hours of ripping good time making fun of small town and historical missteps. It's one of our favorite driving podcasts. We've been nomads for the past 3+ years. We do a lot of driving, especially post pandemic.
Not federal law enforcement, but government and major corporations generally have preferred vendors who can help sell the product for some percentage off the top. In my experience this is a much less time consuming process than going through the process of getting set up as an official vendor.
I would imagine that copyright infringement is difficult and expensive to both prove and defend in court.
I would suggest 2 things:
1) Speak directly with the investors. You have some type of relationship with them. Let them know what happened. Let them know that you're not releasing the IP. That you've gone through this process and your former co-founder who is both negotiating in bad faith and in their name.
I would imagine that the prospect of a costly lawsuit will force a resolution or they will pull funding. Even if you do not sue today, there is still time down the road. They could become successful and you can go after them then.
2) Go on with life. Start your company. Pick better co-founders. Become successful. Don't spend years of your life obsessed with something that didn't turn out.
These are hard learned lessons that I wish I knew 10 years ago.
I get that, starting over in a new place can be tough. I would approach the looking for a new job and looking for clients as the same process. Your skills might not be something that a group needs part/full time but it could be something that they purchase your skills for a week or two a month/quarter and you would be full money wise and still have time to work on your Startup.
A company I consult with does. Either per job or on an ongoing as needed basis. Depending on job's they can pull in people as needed.
It works pretty well for them, but as they grow, they will need to bring on a couple of developers full time.
It is hard to find part time sales/biz dev roles from larger companies. By the time they are looking to hire, they are looking for a full time person because they have a (mostly) full time need. Especially if there is commission involved, then it just continues to feed into the more, more, more...
Source: Before moving into consulting, I ran sales teams.
I would imagine that Customer Success would be easier to find on a less than full-time basis.
Consulting as Mooreds pointed out could be a good solution.
Could you consult or do paid work for clients within the realm of what your start-up is going to be doing?
I've negotiated deals like this in the past and white labeling products are a great way to go about it.
In the past I've done an $X upfront as the cost to create the white labeled product and then some % of the revenue based on the value that you bring and the time/cost it takes you to do so.
Best suggestion is to think of the numbers that would make you insanely happy, double that, and then use that as your starting point for negotiation.