New Business Idea no how to code

[nuzik]

So where do i start, i came up with what i thought was the money maker to end all my woes in the shower this morning and the last couple of days however i have started to look into it and i am more than out of my depth!
Do i try kick start or somewhere else?

 

[kitkat9933]

Find a developer if you believe in it either privately find it or crowdfund it. If you really think it's a good idea try to start protecting the IP as soon as possible.

 

[nuzik]

I heard of crowdfund the other day. Yeah thats a good point. Im new to this side of things so i will look at doing that. Appreciate the heads up there kitkat.

 

[Mynight]

What programming is needed? (Obviously I'm not asking for specifics but mobile/web/desktop?) I might be able to put you in contact with someone depending on what type of programming is required.

By look into it do you mean how to code or researching potential market/competition?

 

[GravyMonster]

Crowdfunding is an idea, but for people to back you you will need some kind of proof of concept in place. Whether that's a physical prototype of a device, or an existing app with x thousand users you want to expand.

No one is going to back you if you have not invested anything in it yourself, and are just looking to play with other peoples' money.

 

[Gornall]

Plus without any protection, your idea will be just replicated elsewhere faster than you can ever code it.

Nothing is 'out of your depth' if you are willing to put the time in.

Use something like Python, can get results quickly and get a proof of concept.

 

[nuzik]

All great ideas there chaps. I'm not looking to play with other people's money. Just exploring all avenues to see what's the best way to go and do it.
I know the competition so that's fine and who else does similar it's the way you actually go about things.

And mobile for the coding.

 

[D.P.]

Find a developer if you believe in it either privately find it or crowdfund it. If you really think it's a good idea try to start protecting the IP as soon as possible.

You can't protect the idea without a proof of concept(e.g. have some protoype already created, or show how the product can be created using proven existing techniques but combined in a non-obvious way). In fact you can't really protect idea. You can patent methods and techniques (and product designs) but not abstract concepts like a business idea. Also, if you apply for a patent then your idea is no longer secret and others can build on your idea. Normally you want to get the patent as late a possible just before you are going public.


Either way, this requires serious money to pay for a good IP lawyer so it is something to worry about down the line.


What needs to be done is getting an NDA letter created (use an IP lawyer, should be relatively cheap) but this only gives some protection. Ultimately it will come down to trust, you will have to tell investors sufficient details about the idea so they can decide to invest. if they steal your idea then you will have some legal recourse regardless of NDA and patents.

Furthermore, even if you have a patent in place and everyone signs NDAs the only legal protection you really have is what you can afford in lawyers to defend your IP. A patent isn't worth diddly squat if you can't hire equal caliber lawyers to those of the entity who stole your idea.


lastly, I wouldn't worry to much about protecting the idea. the chance that it is actually novel is incredibly slim. The chance that even if the idea is novel it will actually succeed in anything is even slimmer. Thiese are just the cold facts, 90% of start ups fail so you have to be prepared to loose significant time and money for a small chance of success.

 

[D.P.]

All great ideas there chaps. I'm not looking to play with other people's money. Just exploring all avenues to see what's the best way to go and do it.
I know the competition so that's fine and who else does similar it's the way you actually go about things.

And mobile for the coding.

Remortgage your house to free up some capital that you can invest in developers. This will show a strong sign to other potential investors or developers that you are committed and have a heavy stake in the outcome.

Using other peoples money to try out an idea is easy. Putting your own house on the line is a different matter and is much more likely to get heads turning.


I would first prototype your idea. If it is software related see if you can make a basic example in python or such like and start looking to see what the feasibility is like or how well it actually works.

 

[!bluetonic!]

i came up with what i thought was the money maker to end all my woes in the shower this morning

I'm pretty sure penis pumps already exist.

 

[ZombieFan]

lastly, I wouldn't worry to much about protecting the idea. the chance that it is actually novel is incredibly slim. The chance that even if the idea is novel it will actually succeed in anything is even slimmer. Thiese are just the cold facts, 90% of start ups fail so you have to be prepared to loose significant time and money for a small chance of success.

This is very true. Before you do anything you need to find out if the idea is actually any good or not. The only way to find this out is to ask other people. That doesn't mean you should post the idea on a computer forum (or anywhere on the Internet!). Instead, work out what your target customer is and ask family and friends who fit this profile what they think of the idea.

People think they should keep ideas to themselves in fear of people copying them. Realisically, the chance of someone copying your idea is slim. The vast majority of people don't have the time, resource or drive to realise their own ideas, let alone copy someone elses.

 

[Amleto]

Plus without any protection, your idea will be just replicated elsewhere faster than you can ever code it.

Nothing is 'out of your depth' if you are willing to put the time in.

Use something like Python, can get results quickly and get a proof of concept.

you cant protect ideas.

 

[Gornall]

you cant protect ideas.

But you can protect the implementation of the idea.

I believe his idea is a better way of doing something that already exists. So yes, he can protect it once it's implemented to an extent.

My point is, if his idea is truly better, the competition will implement it much fast than he will generally.

 

[GravyMonster]

People think they should keep ideas to themselves in fear of people copying them. Realisically, the chance of someone copying your idea is slim. The vast majority of people don't have the time, resource or drive to realise their own ideas, let alone copy someone elses.

1000x this.

The number of times we get phone calls at work that go along the lines of

'I have an awesome idea which will make millions'
'Ok, what is it?'
'I can't tell you unless I fax you an NDA and you sign it and send it back'
'Ok, bye'.

Any developer you contact will not have the time, nor the inclination to jump through your hoops. They're not interested in stealing your idea. If they're a dev of any repute, they probably wouldn't have time to steal your idea and develop it alongside the projects they already have running.

 

[D.P.]

Anyone who doesn't share sufficient business details when trying to garner investment or developers etc. is clearly far too inexperienced to bother with.

If you have stacks of money and can prove this large bank account then of course you can hire developers and staff at the going rate. If you want people to work for less than the going rate in exchange for stock options, or invest money, then you will have to give them every single detail on how the business will operate, what the market research results indicate, expected profit margins, sales figures, growth, competitor landscape, existing IP, fall back plans, time lines, partners, expertise, prior experience, progress, etc. etc.

Having a good idea is dead easy. Pretty much everyone does, and any developer or engineer worth their salt undoubtedly has several strong ideas of their own. Making a successful business out of an idea is incredibly difficult and hard work, and has a huge amount of luck thrown in. 90% of start-ups fail, and they mostly have good ideas. Some start-up succeed and have very bad ideas. A good start-up company could make chocolate teapots go a long way, an average start-up will see a free infinite energy device fail.

A developer that is rewarded with stock will want to know if your idea is better than his, and whether you have the ability, determination and energy to make it succeed. Are you going to work 70 hour weeks, give up weekend and holidays, travel across the country, work on every single lead, put your life and soul into every opportunity?
You are asking a huge commitment from employees and investors so you need to present as much evidence as possible on why you will succeed. Otherwise the develop will just work somewhere else where they are guaranteed a salary or a start-up they believe is more likely to succeed.

 

[D.P.]

But you can protect the implementation of the idea.

I believe his idea is a better way of doing something that already exists. So yes, he can protect it once it's implemented to an extent.

My point is, if his idea is truly better, the competition will implement it much fast than he will generally.

Which is why you don't want to get a patent until you are ready.
As you say, you can only patent an implementation (or proof that it can be implemented) so he can't patent his idea until it is developed into at least a protoype (in software something like an early alpha release).

Anyway, the patent isn't useful for a start-up to protect their IP themselves. They could never afford the lawyers. The patent is useful when trying to sell the company or seek large investments because the investors and share holders will know the business IP is protected and with their collective wealth have some chance to defend the patent. The patent portfolio then has value.

When just starting out, you wont have anything to patent, wont be able to afford a patent, cannot defend a patent, and you don't want to let competitors know about your implementation.


E.g., there is a problem X.
The standard solution A has some limitations.
The OP finds a novel solution that resolves some of hose limitation and creates solution B. A patent is awarded and published.

A competitor sees the patent and gives it to their tech team of wizards and gurus. They see that solution B is better, but that gives them insight and ideas how to create an even better solution C using a a novel or non-obvious adjustment to solution B.
This competitor gets awarded a patent and has the superior technology.


Or alternatively, OP develops a completely brand new kind of product and gets a patent. Competitor see this product and the value, so creates a different implementation that can also be patented. Competitor has much more money and engineers to throw at the problem so releases to market sooner.


Worry about patents later in the start-up. They will become very important but it is certainly not the first thing to do. Plus, getting awarded a patent is very difficult and takes years and years. We spend around 70K a year trying to get patents awarded (out technology is mature and we are looking for large investments and then to go IPO next year). It is very slow and frustrating.

 

[Willir]

So what's the idea? I kid.

 

[GravyMonster]

So what's the idea? I kid.

#NotJoking

 

[Russinating]

Spunkey, I don't know if your role involves quoting but I assume you have a pretty good idea anyway. Roughly how much would it cost for a site link RatedPeople or MyHammer? Without wanting to derail the thread do you mind if I PM you (or you can just PM me)?

 

[GravyMonster]

To be honest, I've moved to writing web services which support mobile apps these days. I haven't done anything with a bona-fide website in about 6 months.

Off the top of my head, for a site like those done by a professional agency, I'd hazard a guess upwards of £50k. Split 75% dev cost, 25% infrastructure. Obviously if you wanted to start smaller with less features, lower spec servers etc. you can halve that.

Feel free to PM me if you want a more detailed ballpark