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> Another perspective is that a startup is a search for a viable business model Sure, and I personally have nothing against you trying to do that. It's a tough market to get into, no doubt, and any new business is going to have its share of stumbles in the early days. On the other hand, that doesn't change the fact that it would be dangerous/irresponsible for the executives at most organisations to rely on your service for something as fundamental as accepting payments until you've got over those stumbles and you are clearly a viable partner for the long term. Nor does it change the fact that one way or another, you're clearly still stumbling at this point, even if you're stumbling with style! :-) As the saying goes, it's not personal, it's just business. To me (as someone who runs businesses himself and would love to outsource all the payment hassles for just about all of them) I can't see the case for relying on a start-up at this stage of development for this sort of service. If your prospective client is already well-established, they can afford to do anything your start-up can do in-house to keep the costs down and get exactly the solution they want, so the reward for outsourcing isn't high. If your prospective customer is running a start-up themselves and looking to outsource, they could be betting their entire business on the abilities of other people outside their control (i.e., your team), which is a tough call to make without at least obvious financial backing and a proven track record behind you, so the risk for them is high. I wish you luck in your quest to find that viable model. Perhaps you can bring enough similarly entrepreneurial folks along with you for now to reach the point where you do offer higher rewards with lower risks, at which point I'm guessing you've made it. |