I’m sure it comes as no surprise to people that the tech sector isn’t that big; odds are you work with someone now that someone you used to work with ALSO worked with previously. Even knowing this, it’s surprising to overhear people talking about something or someone that you didn’t think that they had heard of.

The other day I was sitting in my cubicle trying to make a backup drive eject a tape (a whole other story in there) and overheard a number of marketing people talking about Marqui. I assumed that they were talking about something else entirely, but then they made a comparison to Salesforce. While the comparison isn’t exactly correct, as they’re totally different things, it’s one that many people have on first reading about Marqui. These guys were big fans of Salesforce, but weren’t big fans of Marqui; apparently due in no small part to the fact that Marqui is a startup that is in need of funding, and who might just vanish tomorrow. There was also some amount of discussion about clients that had been leaving Marqui for unknown reasons.

I know it’s hard to be a startup company; well, at least I know it can be hard to work for one. I know that I’ve never picked the make-me-rich startup; maybe I’d have a different opinion if I had ever held anything but underwater options. I really have to think about it before I commit myself to a startup, even if it’s on a contract basis; will they pay their invoices on time, if at all?

I suppose next time I’ll point them at the Marqui blogging page…

Update: I’m not taking a shot at Marqui’s payment schedule above; just that I’ve lost a thousands of dollars at other contracts when they shut down suddenly, or declared bankruptcy, or just decided to fight every line item on an invoice to death, knowing I didn’t have the resources to sue them. If I was really concerned about Marqui not paying me, I’d be a whole lot more straight forward about that.