Corporate & Securities Law

Knights In Shining Armor & Wolf Tickets

By Ryan Roberts

Why does it seem like those who claim to be the “miracle solution” for your startup end up letting your startup down?

Of course, as a service provider to startups I’m in a bit of a quandary writing this post. (Your startup might need a lawyer; it might not.) But if a lawyer or any other service provider company promises your startup magical results, it’s probably a good sign that your startup needs to look elsewhere for services. And that is assuming your startup even has a need for such services.

Here’s a few examples of miracle-result pitches that have hit my email inbox from service providers wanting to gain either (1) my business and/or (2) access to my client list:

- “Hire me the SEO King/Social Media Exert and I’ll help your clients go viral…”

- “Hire me the Business Plan Guru and your clients will get awesome projections that investors will love…”

- “Hire me the investor finder and I’ll get your clients funded…”

It’s pretty easy for me to hit the DELETE key when these hit my inbox. But a startup (especially one with first-time founders) may be vulnerable to service providers and other business that promise your startup the path to glory. You’ll need to avoid the temptation to believe that any service provider is your knight in shining armor.

Those that are selling the hardest and promising the most are usually the most desperate and least likely to deliver. Knights in shining armor sell wolf tickets — not tickets to easy street.

Full post as published by The Startup Lawyer on April 20, 2010 (boomark / email).