software, web-development, programmers, applicationsI’m a junior LAMP stack developer and I have created a CRM(Customer Relation Management Software) and it has become very successful, so successful in fact that a company that makes 2.5 billion annually has inquired how much it would cost for them to become co-owners of my software(basically they want to buy the source code and let me continue to develop it). I’ve been doing research all day and night, but I’m still clueless as exactly how I should approach this situation. How should I evaluate my software? What steps should be taken? Any ideas or advice would be greatly appreciated.
BASICALLY: They want to pay for a copy of the software without the right to redistribute(They say their plans are for internal use and not redistribution of any kind) and keep me as the developer. Where would I go from there?
One of the options is to start a company that would be a legal framework around this product of yours and then for them to buy out half of the company for amount you negotiate - you can’t really become a co-owner of a product, it’s not a house. In this case your software should become property of the company.
How to approach the situation is with communication - you should clarify what exactly do they mean by this offer, and what exactly do they mean by co-ownership? What does that imply exactly?
As a sidenote, it is a rather interestingly formed question by such a large company, as companies of this size usually have enough resources to just buy your software along with the rights completely.
Edit:
If that is indeed the case you must negotiate fallowing - do they want you as a contractor or as an employee? What are their expectations towards development - will they be able to define new requirements for the project and you will have to implement them? What is their compensation offer - fixed monthly/yearly, per hours, other? These are the general questions you should ask and decide on how to proceed when you have answers.
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