Yu-han agreed.
At first.
Then Blue Harbor began running out of money.
The company employed twenty-three people.
Engineers.
Technicians.
Administrative staff.
And a small manufacturing team working with outside partners.
It had completed promising prototypes, but commercial qualification took longer than expected.
The company needed more equipment.
Additional testing.
And working capital.
Yu-han approached banks.
Several declined.
She contacted investors.
Some offered small amounts.
Others demanded ownership terms she considered unreasonable.
Then Hsu Meridian Capital expressed interest.
The company's representatives described Blue Harbor as exactly the kind of Taiwanese technology startup they wanted to support.
They offered to consider a two-million-dollar investment.
The amount could finance product validation, support operations, and help Blue Harbor secure its first major manufacturing contracts.
For Yu-han, it represented survival.
For me, it represented an opportunity to see the invention reach practical use.
But there was a problem.
Hsu Meridian wanted more than an ordinary equity investment.
Its term sheet included requirements concerning VelaFlow.
The investors wanted reassurance that Blue Harbor could use the technology for the products it planned to commercialize.
That was reasonable.
A company couldn't base its business plan on technology it had no right to use.
But the investor's representatives gradually began demanding rights beyond the original proposed license.
They wanted exclusivity.
Then international exclusivity.
Then control over improvements.
Finally, Victor Hsu suggested that a permanent assignment of the patent might be simpler than licensing.
I refused.
Not dramatically.
Not angrily.
I simply explained that ownership wasn't available for transfer under those terms.
Victor smiled.
Then said, “Everybody has a price.”
I looked at him.
“Not every right is for sale.”
He laughed.
“We'll see.”