David Ward – Always Have an NDA, Even When Doing Business with Friends

<p><strong>BIO:</strong> Rise, fall, rise again. Along the way, get divorced, get turned over by a friend on a new business idea, get ripped off in the sale of another. Get married again, become a father again, build again.</p><p><strong>STORY:</strong> David had this excellent novel business that he shared with a trusted friend who went on to stab him in the back by taking the idea and making it hers.</p><p><strong>LEARNING:</strong> Always have an NDA or any other formalized document before sharing your proprietary ideas with anyone. Be careful when doing business with friends; it is best to avoid it altogether. Do not be afraid of competition; keep reinventing yourself to stay ahead.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-center"><strong>“Opportunities and choices come along all the time. It depends on the ones we take.”</strong></p><p class="ql-align-center">David Ward</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h2><strong>Worst investment ever</strong></h2><p>David was traveling through Asia when he met a friend from London at an airport lounge. They talked, and David shared a business idea with her in the sustainability space he was quite passionate about. His friend expressed interest in doing business with David, but nothing was put on paper at the time. David went ahead and shared the first outline of the business with her.</p><h3><strong>Keeping the conversation going</strong></h3><p>David and his friend continued talking about the business idea for the next six weeks or so. However, they did not come to any sort of agreement. David was really passionate about starting this business, so he launched his first sustainable products brand in Asia. The launch went well, and he further launched the products in the US market eight months later.</p><h3><strong>Getting stabbed by his friend</strong></h3><p>All this while, David was still communicating with his friend who was now in London. David would share many details regarding his newly launched brand as he always hopes to go into business with his friend.</p><p>Two years after David launc