Title: I run Obsidian Portal ( http://www.obsidianportal.com ), a content management system for tabletop RPGs (ie. Dungeons &#38; Dragons).  We've been doing this for about 3 years now.<p>When I originally started, I (naively) believed that the publisher of D&#38;D would see the value of what we were doing and immediately acquire us. Back then, I just thought that's how things worked. Make a site, get bought out, go buy expensive car.<p>Fast forward 3 years, and they've never once contacted us. I actually met one of their web developers at a convention, and introduced myself. First thing he said: "Yeah, we know who you are..." So, they definitely have heard of us, and frankly at this point, it would be impossible for them not to know who we are.<p>Anyways, we instituted a freemium model about 1.5 years back and things have been great. We've got a lot of premium subscribers, and the ranks are swelling every day. We're not rich, but we're getting close to ramen profitable.<p>However, we've started to hear rumors that the publisher is getting ready to develop their own campaign management system. They tried once before and failed miserably, but their new team is very competent and I have every reason to believe they'll succeed this time around. With their exclusive access to all the copyrighted material, I'm pretty sure it will be a big hit, even if they lack some of the cool features we have. Plus, I fully expect them to borrow heavily from our feature-set. It's what I'd do in their place...<p>So, I'm frustrated and worried that they're about to enter the arena with a big advantage (ie. the brand and the exclusive content) and I won't be able to compete. Still, it seems that even after all this time, my site remains a perfect fit to be acquired. We could deliver exactly what they're looking for without all the risk of developing it from scratch.<p>Since they've never once tried to contact me all this time, is it time I put a foot forward? I've read the conventional wisdom that "companies are bought, not sold", but my shy-girl-at-the-dance stance of waiting to be asked so far hasn't generated any results.<p>How do I go about making that first contact? Who do I contact? Do I propose some kind of partnership in the hopes that the relationship grows from there?<p>Any advice here would be greatly appreciated.
Upvote: