Credit: Tyson Dudley — https://unsplash.com/@ty_dudley

Overcoming obstacles and remaining honest

Ben Swindell
Aug 26, 2017 · 3 min read

Whilst on holiday a few years back, I read Ryan Holiday’s book ‘The Obstacle is the Way: The Ancient Art of Turning Adversity to Advantage’. Now I must confess, I have this rather annoying habit of reading a book and then not retaining the key points it’s trying to make — handy huh? The overarching theme in Ryan Holiday’s book I do remember though (quite possibly because the clue is in the title) and I try to keep it in the back of my mind at all times.

Ryan uses lots of great examples from throughout history. They all illustrate no matter how big the obstacle is that we face, there’s always a way to turn it to our advantage. It might require a bit of a u-turn. It might require a completely new approach, but believing their is a way and working the angles to find it has definitely proved fruitful for me.

If you’ve read the book you’ll appreciate the obstacle I’m about to write about below is laughable in comparison to some of the people and stories highlighted in the book. It was a nice proof of concept for me though and so I figured my small triumph might help others too. So here goes…

After deciding to name my new venture after my grandfather, I figured the sensible thing would be to trademark the name. You gotta think big after all.

I did a quick Google search and couldn’t see anyone else using it. At least no one who would deem me a competitor, but for peace of mind I also appointed a trademark lawyer to conduct a more comprehensive search.

The trademark lawyer identified a company in the US that he thought could take umbrage at my application. They operated in the same industry per se but they had a completely different audience and product so it wasn’t a complete no go.

I decided to proceed with my application and all seemed well until a week or so before the deadline for opposing my application was up. The letter I had been dreading arrived and they were opposing my application. As you can imagine these things always sound rather scary. The tone of the letter official and serious. They were basically giving me the opportunity to withdraw my application to avoid opposition proceedings.

Clearly as a startup, the last thing I wanted to enter into was a lengthy and costly legal battle. Even just to engage my lawyer to open up discussions was going to cost money.

I thought about my options. I had a very genuine and sincere reason for landing on my chosen name. I had zero intention of encroaching on the company in the US, let alone using the name to try and pass myself off as them. In fact, I wished them all the success in the world.

The next thing I did was arguably rather foolhardy, but I decided the best course of action was to contact their lawyers directly to explain my situation. I’d simply have an open and honest chat. What’s the worst that could happen? They’d insist that I withdraw my application which was what I was facing anyway.

To my surprise the lawyer was very pleasant on the phone and after hearing my story, suggested I document everything down in a letter that he could pass onto his client.

I emailed over my letter and waited nervously.

A few days later, I was flabbergasted to hear they were happy for me to proceed. The only stipulation was that I narrow my application slightly which I happily agreed to. I’d only broadened it originally as I was advised to do so when submitting the application.

So I guess what I’m trying to say, is that when it might seem like the odds are stacked against you. Or you find yourself in a David vs Goliath situation. If you believe in what you’re trying to do and your intentions are good then don’t be afraid to open up and lay your cards on the table.

Couple this with a sincere and honest approach, and you might just surprise yourself with what’s achievable.

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Written by

Fascinated by brands, culture and the space in between. Founder of Horace. Frustrated drummer.

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