tech-company, hiringBackground
First of all, I am a software developer, with 12 plus years of commercial development experience. I have used a variety of development platforms over the years, and have used cloud computing services extensively over the past few years to develop scale-able software.
Idea
I am convinced that I have a good idea for a website.
I am facing a dilemma in that, I want to share this idea with someone who I can trust, who is experienced enough in the IT industry, to honestly say - whether it will work or not, but someone who will not run away with the idea behind my back :-)
Hiring Help
I am a realist - I know that having a day job and a young family, mean that I need help, even to develop a prototype. Again, the person I hire for working on this website must be trustworthy.
My question is this: is there a way to employ a developer and only let him work on bits and pieces, so he/she does not get the whole picture/idea? I am pretty sure this would not work, as it will become pretty apparent what I am trying to do.
What are the alternatives? Should I patent the idea (spend big bucks for something I do not know will be successful or not)? Should I contractually bind the developer in a non-disclosure agreement? Should I offer the developer a share of proceeds when they happen (maybe years into the future)? Or all of the above?
Side Notes
Also note that while I have many friends in the IT industry, most of them do not have time for a side-project, certainly not the amount of time I would require for this project, so I cannot hire them.
In an ideal world, I would give up my day job, not rely on anyone for technical expertise to get the site up and running, but I do have bills to pay :-( so this is not an option.
Fellow software guy here... also investor in various startups, and also a founder with 2 exits.
You've heard this a thousand times, because it is true: Ideas are a dime a dozen... we call ideas "MULTIPLIERS", because they multiply the factor of a good execution team. Read this article from Derek Sivers, where he talks about the X effect.
If you have over 12 years in the software business, you must have some co-workers, technical friends, business friends to talk to. Further more, if it is a good idea, you should probably talk to your 'potential' customers, those that may pay/use the product you will be building, and hear their feedback directly.
If you have already done that (validated your idea with your future customers) and you've made your mind and want to implement it with someone else, you'll most likely need to form a business and share some equity with such co-founder.
Don't go crazy with legal paperwork and fees, you can get most of your formation docs, founder agreement, NDA, advisor agreement, etc. for free or very cheap at UpCounsel. You'll hear from lots of people to go all crazy with companies in Delaware and a ton of 'best practices', but the best advice I can give you is, DON'T OVERTHINK IT, do what requires the least amount of energy to protect yourself and the company, and focus on the product.
If you are new in the business of starting up, I'd advise getting some guidance from incubation programs like Founder Institute, local business leaders, or a local startup accelerator with reputable exits. They will help you protect your idea, and IP overall... surround yourself with people that complement your skills, and it'll be really hard to fail.
Oh, and no VC, Investor, or Incubator will sign an NDA to hear your idea... but that's not a bad thing... we get hundreds of people with ideas, imagine if we had to sign an NDA for each one... ufff! We are not in the business of stealing ideas, but rather in the business of finding people who want to execute on an idea... and who better than the ideator him/her-self?
Ultimately, most founders in the software business do better with co-founder. Look in your circle of trust, long time friends, people you admire, leaders you follow and have good rapport with. Just try to get out there to find your perfect match... and most importantly... follow your gut.
Also, if you want to get an army of workers, and don't have the cash to hire consultants and such, you can share equity from work (!=coFounder)... try (after you get a co-founder) something like ASSEMBLY for that.
Since you’re obviously not willing to share the idea with entire stackexchange community I can only be guessing what your possibilities might be.
As zazaalaza pointed out you have an option for a patent, but it usually does not work with websites and ideas. You’ve seen the movie Social Network I’m sure.
While some kind of non-disclosure and non-compete are a must for any type of business relationship I wouldn’t be so frightened to share your idea with even broader group of people. That’s what most of the startups do.
Most likely your idea has come to mind to someone else by this time anyway. The good thing for you is the fact that 99% of people don’t have desire, resources or ability to execute your idea. Thus you’re pretty safe as long as you yourself are able to execute faster and better than others.
If you won’t be actively working on your idea then sooner or later someone will get ahead no matter what you do to protect your idea.
Finally, to address your Side Notes, I’d like to suggest you’d consider an outsourcing option. While nothing is free that might be cheaper and better suited for your needs. Please take a look at our website http://www.varteq.com. It’s got some information and contact. We’re US based with Eastern European development office. You can also find me on linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/atrubka.
You can do this by entering into a contractual agreement with the person you decide to work with and placing a Non Compete Clause in the respective contract.
File a Provisional Patent. A provisional patent will allow you to claim patent pending status for up to one year. Currently it only costs a little more than $100 to file a provisional patent. The only downside to the provisional patent is that at the end of the one year time period you will loose all patent rights to the invention if you do not file a utility patent application.
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