Open source software (“OSS”) is now ubiquitous, providing community-vetted solutions to common requirements in the software industry. The widespread use of OSS is especially common with start-ups who are driven by the need to develop a minimum viable product as fast as possible in order to quickly enter the market and acquire market feedback.

All of your hard work to this point will culminate in Step 4 – Negotiation. You’ve prepared yourself and your business partner, and secured a commitment from business and legal on the other side to a system with proven results for closing important deals on tight timeline. However, given the nature of business negotiations, this is also the point where things can easily go awry as a result of delayed approvals or worse, a breakdown in the original agreement. The following suggestions are designed to keep negotiations on track and bring the deal across the finish line quickly and efficiently as promised:

In many ways, Step 3 – Bringing in the Other Side – is the most important component of handling complex deals on a tight deadline. It can also be the most delicate, which is why you must rely heavily on the assistance of your business partner in order to make this happen. In my experience, securing a commitment to expediency from the other side is best achieved by adopting the following approach: 

After you’ve prepared yourself, it is time to meet with the business person or team responsible for the deal. The goal of Step 2 – Coordinate with your Business Partner(s) – is working through key details of the proposed transaction in order to clarify objectives, define roles and responsibilities, assess preparedness and identify potential obstacles. In doing so, you are also able to establish more reasonable expectations around completing the deal and more importantly not making commitments you are unable to keep. The following is a list of key points to consider at this stage:

As most seasoned lawyers can attest, the toughest deals usually come with the tightest deadlines and a level of complexity that prevents the use of a templated agreement. Although protecting the client’s interests is always the most important priority, what good is that goal if you can’t get the deal done? In this blog series, we will offer 4 tried-and-true steps for getting tough deals done both skillfully and quickly. This advice will be shared over 4 separate posts, starting with the necessary step of preparing yourself.