Identify the relationship.
Explain whether the conversation involves an investor, prospective customer, partner, licensee, or development collaborator. Describe the purpose of the exchange.
DISCLOSURE & AGREEMENTS
The demo is ready.
What should we share?
Investor meetings, customer pilots, and technology partnerships each create a different conversation about your invention.
THE PROBLEM
You need to explain the value.
You also need a disclosure plan.
Your software startup cannot grow without talking to people. But a pitch, an integration discussion, and a joint development project do not need the same technical detail. An NDA alone does not answer every business question about what to disclose.
THE QUESTIONS BEHIND IT
What does the other party actually need to know?
Which implementation details should stay out of the conversation?
Do the proposed agreements fit the relationship we are entering?
HOW IAF HELPS
Prepare for the conversation.
Put the agreement in context.
Jurgen’s published NDA commentary emphasizes the business setting in which information is shared and the practical limits of confidentiality agreements. IAF offers strategic consultations and agreement review or preparation to help connect those decisions to your company’s plans.
Define the information needed.
Separate the product benefit from the technical material the other party needs for that specific conversation. Discuss your invention and disclosure plans privately with counsel.
Review the agreement and next step.
Consider how the proposed relationship and agreement work together. Coordinate the disclosure discussion with the broader patent and commercial strategy.
MAKE THE NEXT STEP PRACTICAL
Before the meeting,
bring three pieces of context.
Who you are talking to
The type of party, its role, and what you hope to achieve together.
What you plan to show
A general outline of the demo, technical discussion, or information exchange.
The proposed agreement
Discuss appropriate private sharing of an NDA, pilot agreement, or collaboration terms for review.
Strategic counsel and agreement work are $850 per hour. Agree on scope before work begins. Disclosure decisions depend on the specific facts; the public site is an introduction to the service, not an assessment of a particular disclosure.
WHAT FOUNDERS ASK
A little more clarity.
Is signing an NDA the whole answer?
Jurgen’s commentary looks at practical limits and the business context of confidentiality agreements. Discuss the specific relationship, the information being shared, and the relevant agreement together.
Can you review a partner agreement as well as discuss patents?
IAF’s strategic counsel includes agreement review and preparation, along with high-level consultations and business strategy, at $850 per hour.
LET'S TALK ABOUT YOUR STARTUP
Plan before you share.
Start with a general introduction. Discuss scope and fees before professional work begins.