Let’s imagine that I have come up with a novel business idea and want get it off the drawing board and into the market-place. I have little money to invest and cannot reach the decision makers of any Corporate entities which may show interest.
I am naturally interested in making money out of my idea and thus have reservations about revealing too much information until I hold some kind of formal agreement which gives me the necessary protection.
My suspicion, seeing as we have about 6,5 billion people on the planet, is that 99,999% of so called unique ideas are a load of ‘unowat’, but by the same token, there are possibly 6,500 really good ideas out there which have the potential of making millions.
So good people, what do I do with my unique business / marketing idea? This particular one could be directly linked to the 2008 Beijing Olympics as I believe it holds a strong element of ‘international appeal’ but time is running out for this option.
Hello,
The first think that captures my attention is that you wish to keep some things secret in order to protect the idea. The idea itself is not the “key” for success, so it is not so urgent to protect it. What is important is how to realize the idea and make it successful and of course who is on the back of the idea and how she or he wishes to fight for making the best out of it.
“Protecting the idea” probably is one of the reasons why many ideas are lost.
Realization is what matters. Ideas alone have no value.
So, what to do? make a business plan and a business model. And don’t loose the chance of getting feedback from potential investors: what do they like or what not.
Some weeks ago I’ve heard from a Microsoft’s guy: “Planning without realization is dreaming”. I think the same is for ideas “great ideas without planning are just dreams”.
Good luck and break the stone wall of protectiveness (the wall is made on paper…not stone)!
Here is your problem…’cannot reach the decision makers of any Corporate entities’
why would you say that? you must figure out what big corp would benefit from your idea, and present it to them. unless you are in jail, you can reach them.
References :
Hello,
The first think that captures my attention is that you wish to keep some things secret in order to protect the idea. The idea itself is not the "key" for success, so it is not so urgent to protect it. What is important is how to realize the idea and make it successful and of course who is on the back of the idea and how she or he wishes to fight for making the best out of it.
"Protecting the idea" probably is one of the reasons why many ideas are lost.
Realization is what matters. Ideas alone have no value.
So, what to do? make a business plan and a business model. And don’t loose the chance of getting feedback from potential investors: what do they like or what not.
Some weeks ago I’ve heard from a Microsoft’s guy: "Planning without realization is dreaming". I think the same is for ideas "great ideas without planning are just dreams".
Good luck and break the stone wall of protectiveness (the wall is made on paper…not stone)!
References :
Good news for idea makers: http://goooodnews.blogspot.com/2007/07/good-news-for-idea-makers.html
The art of raising Angel capital:
http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/03/the_art_of_rais.html
All about the word "idea" in Guy’s blog:
http://search.freefind.com/find.html?id=33581960&pageid=r&mode=all&n=0&query=business+idea
1st, protect the intellectual property that is embedded in the idea. Get a patent, copyright, trademark as the case may be so that when you disclose your idea it is not ripped off.
2nd, You are under capitalized so find a group that is willing to invest in start ups. See http://www.k4forum.com. Expect to give away a substantial portion of your company to obtain an investment.
3rd, build prototypes or at least make working models of the business and how it generates money and when. This is different than the business plan financial details.
4th, Obtain marketing tools, presentation materials, endorsements, etc.
5th, Network your way to "decision makers" Perhaps your investor can open some doors for you.
6th, Determine who your closest competitor is and with confidentially agreements in hand, sell your idea to them.
References :
the most common routes self-starters have taken are:
1. turn to your relatives and ask for money (make them investors)
2. mortgage your house, car, everything that you have, to finance your idea.
References :
Hire a professional project manager is my main suggestion, they are generally cheap (400-2000) and you secure your idea through associated means (free because you have professional backing the chances of reprocutions for a company that wishes to steal your idea are far greater and they generally keep proper documentation for any arising court cases) beyond that they will help you design a proper presention and provide paths to present it.
Aside from that, if your forced to go it alone have your idea notarized along with your list of prospects – it will give you some what of a legal stance and work on refining your presentation to make it as professional as possible so you will be taken seriously.
If you decide to hire a project manager and have trouples finding one email me and ill provide you will a couple of leads – no charge (Good Luck)
References :