advice sought on new venture

[antipodes]

I have an idea which i think has great potential. It can also be syndicated and is really unique. While I'm used to creative work I'm lousy at business dealings. I want to find a partner with experience in online business for this idea. I don't know where to start.

Perhaps there are suitable forums I can post to. Anyone know of any? I'm also curious to know how I can protect my idea in the interim?

thx if you can help.

antipodes

[jaski]

and what is the idea? ;)

more seriously .. I think you need to find some one you can trust and then have a NDA and other terms agreed and signed before any thing else.

coming to your question .. commercial exchange forum on WW is one such place ..

[netguy]

antipodes... If you are considering getting the word out on attracting a partner for your new idea, I would provide people with a 'ballpark' of the industry that your idea falls in (without being too specific on the segment or methodology).

While there are tons of middlemen that want to waste your time on what they can do with a new idea - no matter what it is - most legitimate business people and investors tend to follow certain industries that they have personal experience and knowledge in.

I would also research the market potential for your idea, to detremine the risks and rewards of such a venture, then throw out a line and see if any qualified people bite.

Good Luck!

Steve

"The man with a new idea is a crank... until the idea succeeds."
- Mark Twain

[manilla]

If your idea is as good as you think it might be, my only advice is to tread carefully with a potential partner.

NDA's are only as good as you ability to enforce them if something goes wrong. Choose the wrong partner who goes off and steals your idea, may mean expensive legal fees.

I'd suggest speaking to someone you trust about your idea first to see if they think it has legs.

[webwoman]

You're probably not as lousy as you think at business dealings - most people aren't. Why don't you just hire a competent attorney who specializes in? (whatever it is) to negotiate for you?

[mole]

In my experience (20yrs+ to date) the best teams have a creative person, a businessman, a techy and a salesman.
My first company, formed in 1986 had those and did really, really well.
My latest company has the same basic setup and so far, we're doing pretty well too.
You don't necessarily have to be best friends with all of them, just respect each other and want to succeed together.

[glengara]

Government may have a inventor/ entrepeneur support agency.

[netguy]

glengara, that's a great idea. I just remembered that the SBA has SCORE, a group of retired executives that offer their services to start-ups. Unlike most government employees, these are people that have actually worked in a in a real-world business environment.

antipodes, You might want to check out a SCORE office in your area.

[score.org...]

[anallawalla]

antipodes,

You should first look in your own city. It is better to work with someone you have met and who you can have checked out if they have referees.

Keep the "killer" portion of the idea out of the initial agreement, assuming that you can break it up into something juicy enough to attract someone, yet not reveal the full vision until you trust each other.

Consulting a lawyer beforehand would be advisable.

- Ash

[cfx211]

You would be surprised at what you can do yourself if you take some chances and are willing to learn new things. The caveat to that is to recognize what you cannot do and get professional help there.

I am currently launching a new business with a friend of mine. I handle all of the business. He handles all of the technology. Between the two of us, we have been able to work our way through about 90% of everything so far.

In terms of getting help and advice from people for that other 10%, we lean on friends a lot. Even if they cannot help us, chances are someone has worked with a person who can.

Launching a new business requires a lot more patience than I expected, and I am really glad that I am partnered with someone I know because of that. My recommendation is to get someone you are comfortable with so that when the inevitable obstacles get in your way, you have someone you can rely on to get through it.

[manilla]

Someone said this to me :

In business, it takes twice as long to achieve half as much.

I found this true .....

(but perhaps they told me this 'cos they knew I'm an optimist)

[ckarg]

If you're signing an NDA, make sure it includes specific remedies: For example: "if you disclose this info, you will pay me $xxx immediately". Without remedies, an NDA is pretty useless because it will be so costly to enforce (imagine a lawyer's hourly rate, multiplied by the time they spend haggling over the amount of damage caused by a disclosure...). But I'm only speaking from experience - this does not constitute legal advice ;)