Should I sell the technology or build a business around it instead ?

License them the idea. Retain ownership.

Did they flat out SAY "Yes, we want this; if only we or someone else would develop it?"

You can hire support teams, you know. I wonder if you are letting a few shadow issues stand in the way of a good order.

Build a business around it! Worse thing that could happen is you try and end up having to sell it afterll. If your solution is innovative and provides value innovation plus:

1. focus
2. compelling tagline
3. divergence from other products

you can build yourself a niche product that targets a very specific set of needs and promote it very easily and clearly.

My name is Humberto Valle, an Arizona based true strategist. I have helped individuals and companies alike develop clear objectives and paths to achieve them incorporating current resources, marketing and operational efforts as well as key partnerships.

The other 2 answers (so far) have very good points. But it really depends on what the offer is. My strategy would be to get an actual offer from them and then review the different options. The fact that you have an offer from a company would be very enticing for investors to put money into it for you to build out, if you decide.

This is exactly the strategy I utilized in my own company. We built a solution for one client as a consultant. Wasn't meant for it to be distributed. This client shared what we build in a large conference and we started to get flooded with offers for us to build other clients a similar solution. When this happened, the major player in the industry came along and offered to purchase the solution. We got them to give us an offer and negotiated to a higher price but it wasn't good enough. We used their offer to fundraise and was able to get the company to a valuation 10 times the original offer only 2 years into it. Having said that, if we received a higher offer in the beginning, we probably would've sold it.

I'm a tech entrepreneur (just started another company) that started my career in management consulting. Feel free to reach out if you have further questions or needs.

Take them on as a partner with a reasonable split...that is if they have the money to invest in developing it. They will be responsible for development and marketing. There are other options.

Bootstrap. Read "How To Get Rich" by Felix Dennis. Or better yet just remember the camel's nose in the tent story.

Listen, in any business you have to take some chances and some risks. Make sure you don't need a license and go for it. Remember, timid business people have skinny kids. Paraphrased from Zig Ziglar.

I am not trying to sell you on calling me. Really, I am pretty busy with my businesses and consulting. However, I need more info before I could have a greater impact in helping you.

Ask, Ask, Ask, then Ask again.

Bonus:
Here is $10,000 worth of information for free and in a nutshell.

Concentrate on the 3 M's. There are actually 7, but 3 will do for now. These are Market, Message, and Media. They come in that order.

Who is your target market (customer, clients, buyers, users, etc.)?
Tailor your laser focused message for this target market.
What is the best media mix to get your message to that market?

Here's what you do...first, make it an offer that is so incredible that they cannot resist. Secondly, do all the work for them. Make it so easy to make the purchase now that they can do it virtually without effort. Thirdly, give them an incentive to act right now. Fourthly, offer an almost unbelievable guarantee. Fifth, offer a bonus for acting now. There are many other incredible steps, but these steps should help the novice to the professional sell anything.

Whether you are selling B2B or B2C, you have to focus on selling to only one person. You can actually sell to one person at a time while selling to millions at a time. They are one and the same. Don't get off track, what we call digital marketing selling is just selling in print. And that has not changed since Cluade Hopkins wrote "Scientific Advertising." Really long before he wrote the book.

The secret to success: I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with some of the biggest names in business, celebrities, actors, entrepreneurs, business people, and companies from startup to billion dollar operations. The number one reason for their success is doing what they know and love while doing it in new, creative, and innovative ways.

Ask, Ask, Ask. Have thick skin and learn from each "mistake." In a short while, the market will tell you what you need to do and who and what you need to ask. But get started now even if that just means asking a contact on LinkedIn.

While you are thinking, think big and think of something at least 1% better, newer, or different. And being cheaper is not a winning strategy.

Make decisions quickly and change decisions slowly..unless you are actually going off a cliff.

Remember these two 11 letter words...persistence and consistency. They are two of the most important tools ever invented.

Treat everybody you talk to and everybody you meet (including yourself) like each is your number one million dollar customer.

Best of luck,
Take massive action and never give up.
Michael

Michael Irvin, MBA, RN

What are your ambitions? Why not sell it outright? What would your concern be?

Why not start a company? What would your concern be?

Could you do something different licence the technology out for a year? Could you do something like charge a variable cost to them to keep your upside?

The challenge with your question is that you are asking us to tell you what is right for >>you<<. Unfortunately we don't know enough about you yet to give the right answer.