website, investorsBackground: I’m based in the Uk and some years ago I developed some software and started selling it directly. Over the years it has been moderately successful and paid me a reasonable salary however I had a lot of development work to do to improve and keep up to date. Sales never really grew to the desired level and have plateaued.
Now I also have about five other ideas, the product in most cases a website. It’s become apparent although I have the software skills to mostly build them I don’t have the time, and I don’t have the marketing or business skills.
So I need partner(s), I was thinking about crowd sourcing but I’m struggling to know how to pitch it and what I can give in return. I’m also considering venture capital but don’t know how to get started with this, and these ideas are JUST ideas at the moment, I’m also worried about the ideas being stolen.
So please what are my first steps.
I have found Venture Capital in the UK like proven businesses that could grow with an injection of capital. I never met a VC that would invest in an idea. ‘Angels’ (think Dragons den withut the theatricals) do invest in early stage business, but generally they invest in business people they believe in, not in inventions. If you can pitch an idea and write a business plan you could pitch to an angel, but again you would want to be at the late prototype stage and be comfortable in business speak.
Crowdfundung again is for fully formed ideas with the people in place and a plan for how you are to spend the money!
I would say you want to find a business partner who can help you with this stuff and leave you to look after the tech! Don’t underestimate this persons value, and be prepared to share a large proportion of the equity of your new startup with them. I know it is your idea, but as you have already identified, a good idea is not enough to be succesful.
Regarding protecting your idea, it depends on the idea. You shouldn’t need to protect yourself from a co-founder if you are sharing equity! You need to consider if your idea is easy to copy then there could be no way to protect it. If you are concerned about an investor that you are in discussions with may steal your idea, then you can offer yourself some protection by asking them to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Google for some examples.
It seems like you have fallen into the trap of thinking too far down the road, as many of us often do. You have taken the time to see that you are missing some pieces of the entrepreneurship puzzle and should get someone on as a partner, that is a good thing. Now the next thing to do is find a partner. This is easier said than done, though.
The first thing to remember is that you do not always need a fully working product to pitch an idea (See the link below for the example of how dropbox started). This means that you can build a prototype to get the point of your pitch across well enough, to both potential partners and potential investors.
In my personal experience, I have found that with a weekend of solid work you can put together a somewhat functional prototype.
Then once this is done you have to put yourself out there and meet people. This could be an event, meetup, conference, or through mutual friends. When you go to these events make sure you have something (prototype) to show and a good elevator pitch that is under a minute, know what it is that you are looking for in a partner and evaluate the people you talk to for these qualities. Usually, if someone is excited about the idea then they will have their own ideas about how you can improve it, this is a good sign.
Once that is done it is time to take the prototype and start validating the Problem-Solution fit for your potential customers through in-person interviews.
http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/19/dropbox-minimal-viable-product/
As you said yourself, get yourself a business partner. As you can handle the technical side, go for sales / business development oriented partner who can get the word out there and help products sell better.
VC funding will be tough, if you’re by yourself with your ideas. Crowdsourcing could get you capital, but you would still have to hustle which is time off from development.
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