>Yeah, one of the first task of a developer should be to determine the formal table of organization and the informal one. Determining who really has the power in a company and getting them onboard is a must!

Exactly. Having someone there onboard who will push the product into life is, at least, helpful, if not a must. Trouble is, you never know who would that be, who's in charge of signing the check, who would help you and who will just look helpful and start gossiping the moment you leave the room. I've been surprised both ways a few times.

One of the bigger failures was when the whole team largely avoided bighead's secretary, having heard he may be jealous (she was too young and pretty for his age), and then she was the cause we were dumped - she was his wife, actually in an important position (not a secretary), and she was very frustrated for not being consulted.