Ask HN: What traps to avoid when dealing with offshore partners?

2 points by pointer 17y ago ↗ HN

I am a US-based entrepreneur who is considering partnering with an offshore hacker -I never met face-2-face- residing in the EU.The deal would involve a fixed payment plus equity/profit share. What are the potential legal issues to avoid? Are NDAs and partnership documents enforceable across borders? Is it worth it or shall I stick with local hackers? Any recommendations for background checks in EU?

2 comments

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bstadil 17y ago ↗

First off why do you think a US hacker would be more honest? In US the first line of defense is always legal measures as your comment clearly confirms. This is not the case in Europe. There is a stigma attached to having to resort to legal means and as such things gets settled most of the time amicably.

If I were the Eu hacker I would be somewhat reluctant to work with you. If this is important to you hop on a plane and visit the guy. Your can get a cheap ticket for a few hundred $.

michael_dorfman 17y ago ↗

I second the recommendation for a trip to Europe for a face-to-face-- if you're not willing to spare that expense, you're severely underbudgeted.

With regard to the enforceability of agreements, etc., talk to your lawyer. Again, if you don't want to spend the money to talk to a lawyer now, you're definitely not going to be happy about spending significantly more money with him/her in the event you need to take legal action to try to enforce the agreements....