Free proposals/scopes get stolen and executed by cheaper freelancers

Pain point

Hours of unpaid discovery, strategy and scoping documents are handed over for free; client ghosts and gives the blueprint to a cheaper vendor. No practical IP protection at the proposal stage.

Signal

Strongest in the set — post at ~112 upvotes, top comment at 164 ("I charge for planning and scoping"), multiple corroborating comments including a copyright/lawyer angle. Thematically overlaps with the unpaid-invoice thread (clients extracting value without paying). [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/freelance/comments/1x3z60b/discovered_a_client_executed_my_proposal_with_a/)

Opportunity

"Paid Discovery" product: a proposal tool that forces a paid-scoping step — client pays a small deposit to unlock the detailed plan, deposit credits against the project. Bundle: watermarked/time-limited proposal viewing, view analytics, auto-attached IP clause ("deliverables remain the property of X until paid"), and a template library for selling discovery as a standalone product. Feasible as a thin SaaS on Stripe + doc viewer (quick to medium build); could also launch as a $49 contract/template pack tomorrow.

Evidence

• Discovered a client executed my proposal with a cheaper freelancer