17 Seconds #51 – “The E-Myth Revisited” Revisited
In the spring of 2001, I was fired from my last gig with a startup as an employee (as VP of Marketing for Bitpipe). (I technically resigned, but see “notable failures” in my LinkedIn profile.) Being let go meant that I was free to pursue what I really wanted to do: help startups with IP using lessons learned from my real-world startup experience. The next day, I launched Clocktower.
During my 2018 summer vacation, I read a couple of books, including “The E-Myth Revisited” by Michael Gerber, the most highly rated business/startup book that I had never read. That book now has a position of honor as a “top shelf” book in my office. And now, of course, I want to change a few things about the firm. Because, what good is knowledge without action?
“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.”
– Japanese Proverb
The good news is that we have done a lot right building and growing Clocktower, but there is always room for improvement. For example, Clocktower’s value proposition has always been that we give the advice we would want if your startup were ours. This means knowing when and how to file patents and trademarks and when not to file.
As a result of this approach, Clocktower’s clients pay 50% of industry averages for their IP. We take huge risks by representing only startups and have a great record (perhaps the best in the country) of helping get startups to the finish line. But we have never asked for a reward for this risk. And when a client gets acquired, we typically lose the existing business to biglaw and then wait three years (the typical earnout period) for the founders to do another startup (which some do not).
Obviously, if all of our clients were acquired tomorrow, then we would go out of business. (Fortunately, based on our current IP due diligence workload, I’m fairly certain that this is not going to happen!)
In January 2006, Clocktower changed entity types, and for completeness (and to satisfy our insurance company), we asked all of our clients to re-hire the new entity. Clocktower likes to march to the beat of a different drummer (actually keyboard player), and we are doing it again. Between now and the end of 2018, we will be contacting your company and asking you to re-hire Clocktower on slightly revised terms, and we ask you to be partners in this discussion. For example, as of 2018-07-01, Clocktower began offering seven pricing options for our 30+ services (adding discounts for small businesses to our existing programs for nonprofits and pro bono clients), resulting in over 200 prices! So we need to add a clause to our agreement stating that your rates will increase/decrease when your company reaches certain milestones.
So do not be alarmed by the title (we’re not really firing you) or by the process, which will be collaborative, difficult, fair, intentional, thoughtful, and win-win.
“The person who says ‘it cannot be done’ should not interrupt the person doing it.”
– Chinese Proverb
We also continue to encourage startup founders to take vacations so they can recharge their batteries, read good books, and pivot at the right time. Even though this is year 18 for Clocktower, I still consider it a startup. Clocktower looks forward to continuing to grow and serve startups with pragmatic advice based on real-world experience.
Thanks for your support!
Best,
Erik
—
Erik J. Heels
IP Strategist, Entrepreneur, Veteran
537 Massachusetts Ave. Suite 301, Acton MA 01720 [map]
17 Seconds is a publication for clients and other VIPs of Clocktower Law. Email version powered by MailChimp and the beat of a different keyboard player.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: In the summer of 2025, Clocktower Intern Mark Magyar used artificial intelligence (AI) software to shorten over 100 Clocktower articles by 17%. The shortened articles are included as comments to the original ones. And 17 is the most random number (https://www.giantpeople.com/4497.html) (https://www.clocktowerlaw.com/5919.html).]
* Clocktower Terminating Our Attorney-Client Relationship
17 Seconds #51 – “The E-Myth Revisited” Revisited
Fish to spouse: Great news! I’ve been let go!
In 2001, I was fired from my last startup gig (VP Marketing, Bitpipe). (Technically resigned, but see “notable failures” on LinkedIn.) That “freedom” let me pursue what I really wanted: helping startups with IP, and the next day I launched Clocktower.
During my 2018 vacation, I finally read Michael Gerber’s The E-Myth Revisited—the highest-rated startup book I’d never read. It now sits on my office “top shelf.” And of course, I want to change things. Because what good is knowledge without action?
“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.” – Japanese Proverb
Clocktower has done much right, but there’s always room to improve. Our value has always been giving the advice we’d want if your startup were ours—knowing when to file patents/trademarks and when not to.
Because of this, our clients pay ~50% of industry averages. We take big risks by working only with startups, and we’ve built one of the best records in the country of getting them to the finish line. But we’ve never asked for reward for that risk, and when clients are acquired, we usually lose the business to biglaw and wait three years (the typical earnout) for founders to start again.
If every client were acquired tomorrow, we’d be out of business. (Luckily, our current IP due diligence backlog suggests otherwise!)
In 2006, when we changed entity types, we asked all clients to re-hire us under the new entity. We’re doing something similar again. Between now and the end of 2018, we’ll ask you to re-hire Clocktower on slightly revised terms, as partners in the process. Since 2018-07-01, we’ve offered seven pricing options across 30+ services (over 200 price points), so we need a clause tying rates to milestones.
So don’t be alarmed—we’re not really firing you. The process will be collaborative, thoughtful, and win-win.
“The person who says ‘it cannot be done’ should not interrupt the person doing it.” – Chinese Proverb
We continue to urge founders to vacation, recharge, and read good books. Even in year 18, Clocktower still feels like a startup. We look forward to growing with you, giving pragmatic advice rooted in real-world experience.
Thanks for your support!
Best,
Erik
Erik J. Heels
IP Strategist, Entrepreneur, Veteran
537 Massachusetts Ave. Suite 301, Acton MA 01720 [map]