A "Selling an Established Product (source code rights)" question
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Ok, in anyone's [preferably experienced] opinion, if someone were to sell the source code copyrights of SqlAssist (www.roundpolygons.com) to an interested party, what would it be worth? Note that SqlAssist was featured in the March MSDN Magazine Toolbox article.
~Steve
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Ok, in anyone's [preferably experienced] opinion, if someone were to sell the source code copyrights of SqlAssist (www.roundpolygons.com) to an interested party, what would it be worth? Note that SqlAssist was featured in the March MSDN Magazine Toolbox article.
~Steve
As with anything, it's worth precisely what someone is prepared to pay for it.
-------------------------------------------------------- Knowledge is knowing that the tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in fruit salad!!
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Ok, in anyone's [preferably experienced] opinion, if someone were to sell the source code copyrights of SqlAssist (www.roundpolygons.com) to an interested party, what would it be worth? Note that SqlAssist was featured in the March MSDN Magazine Toolbox article.
~Steve
I'd base the value/purchase price of an asset on it's potential income and what type of annual yield I need on my investment. I'm sorry it's not much of an answer, but it's difficult to value these things without knowing things like "how much did it cost to build the product?"
Sovereign ingredient for a happy marriage: Pay cash or do without. Interest charges not only eat up a household budget; awareness of debt eats up domestic felicity. --Lazarus Long
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Ok, in anyone's [preferably experienced] opinion, if someone were to sell the source code copyrights of SqlAssist (www.roundpolygons.com) to an interested party, what would it be worth? Note that SqlAssist was featured in the March MSDN Magazine Toolbox article.
~Steve
It depends: - to someone who wants a working product NOW in order to sell it, it is worth some multiple of the earnings they think THEY can generate with it (not necessarily what YOU can generate) - to someone who is not in a hurry for it and has the capability to create something similar it is probably worth something like the development cost (with a premium as you have reduced the risk). - to a competitor who wants you out of the market it is worth whatever they are prepared to pay to protect their future profits etc...
Peter "Until the invention of the computer, the machine gun was the device that enabled humans to make the most mistakes in the smallest amount of time."
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I'd base the value/purchase price of an asset on it's potential income and what type of annual yield I need on my investment. I'm sorry it's not much of an answer, but it's difficult to value these things without knowing things like "how much did it cost to build the product?"
Sovereign ingredient for a happy marriage: Pay cash or do without. Interest charges not only eat up a household budget; awareness of debt eats up domestic felicity. --Lazarus Long
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Ok, in anyone's [preferably experienced] opinion, if someone were to sell the source code copyrights of SqlAssist (www.roundpolygons.com) to an interested party, what would it be worth? Note that SqlAssist was featured in the March MSDN Magazine Toolbox article.
~Steve
Turning over all your source code and copyright to a product is a pretty drastic decision to take. If you really don't care about the product and don't want to bother supporting it in future then I guess it might make sense but you have to consider the potential revenue versus the costs to get that revenue. I.E. if you think you can make 100,000 dollars from it before it's obsolete you can never sell it for that amount because it costs a lot of money to promote and support software to get a certain level of sales and the buyer expects to make a profit from it. In the end it's worth whatever you can get for it but it's a very serious decision to sell over the copyright to something and no doubt there will be in the contract some kind of clause they'll want you to agree to which will prevent you from writing and selling a similar product in future. There are other ways of achieving revenue from a product if you don't feel you can handle the business side of it yourself. No one here would ever be able to give you any kind of value on it, wild assed guesses we have plenty of I'm sure but it's something in the end you have to decide yourself and negotiate. Let them make the first offer, consider if it's anywhere near what you want to get for it and also consider that they will probably offer a fraction of what they are prepared to offer up front but don't get greedy. Get the right kind of lawyer involved if it's any significant amount of money, don't ask in public because a) none of us will have anything like the right kind of expertise or knowledge that you have to give you a realistic idea and b) whoever is interested in buying should be assumed to be reading this very thread right now.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
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Ok, in anyone's [preferably experienced] opinion, if someone were to sell the source code copyrights of SqlAssist (www.roundpolygons.com) to an interested party, what would it be worth? Note that SqlAssist was featured in the March MSDN Magazine Toolbox article.
~Steve
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Rubbish :mad: - there is no set formula that will work like that. There are SOOooo many variables past your simplistic formula that they cannot be enumerated. You absolutely cannot put a value on the software without know IN DEPTH the buyer, the software and the market for the software. Note I did NOT mention quality, think about SAS or SAP or any of the many crappy enterprise apps out there. I was going to comment on John's post that there weren't any silly assed valuations from the peanut gallery but this really is one. Steve - take Johns advice, get an offer then multiply it by a factor to meet YOUR expectations. Good Luck mate.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
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Rubbish :mad: - there is no set formula that will work like that. There are SOOooo many variables past your simplistic formula that they cannot be enumerated. You absolutely cannot put a value on the software without know IN DEPTH the buyer, the software and the market for the software. Note I did NOT mention quality, think about SAS or SAP or any of the many crappy enterprise apps out there. I was going to comment on John's post that there weren't any silly assed valuations from the peanut gallery but this really is one. Steve - take Johns advice, get an offer then multiply it by a factor to meet YOUR expectations. Good Luck mate.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
Everyone, thank you sincerely for your comments. I'm going to take John and Mycroft's suggestions.
~Steve
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how much it cost to build the product does not determine how much the product is worth. its all about demand...
No, when running a business you have variable cost and fixed cost. You have to know those cost...if you can't keep track of you costs vs income (potential or realized) you will soon go out of business.
Sovereign ingredient for a happy marriage: Pay cash or do without. Interest charges not only eat up a household budget; awareness of debt eats up domestic felicity. --Lazarus Long
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No, when running a business you have variable cost and fixed cost. You have to know those cost...if you can't keep track of you costs vs income (potential or realized) you will soon go out of business.
Sovereign ingredient for a happy marriage: Pay cash or do without. Interest charges not only eat up a household budget; awareness of debt eats up domestic felicity. --Lazarus Long