Beware too that some advances, while looking like possible acquisition discussions, are nothing more than intelligence gathering. Another reason to heed PG's advice to keep looking ahead while ignoring the hand wavers.
I'm still more interested in the purpose behind the intelligence gathering, if that is the reason. It hasn't happened to me (yet), but I suspect that the reason is to either purchase what you've done, or replicate it if it's easy enough to do so or you're not willing to sell. Either way, I definitely wouldn't discuss metrics with someone competitive.
I believe this happened to Justin Kan when he visited Google with Kiko. They just wanted to know his numbers, and then they ended up building the product.
> keep looking ahead while ignoring the hand wavers
Could you expand on this a bit? It's the first time I read that phrase - it could be because English isn't my first language. What do you mean with 'hand wavers', people complimenting you on your work without making concrete offers / becoming customers?
m_mueller is correct thought that "hand-waving" can mean being deliberately vague or evasive, especially in the context of describing mathematical processes.
I believe this happened to Justin Kan when he visited Google with Kiko. They just wanted to know his numbers, and then they ended up building the product.