Got an idea....how to get the ball rolling?

[iWantAnIslandTo]

Hi all,

i've had an idea for a computer program which I believe will be highly lucrative if put in to production.

Unfortunately, i'm a total newbie when it comes to entrepreneurship and was wondering if any has any tips or advice on getting things going right for the off.

When i first had my idea i though it was so simple that i wondered if it had already been thought of, after spending a few hours looking round the web I have found no product like it and was wondering what my steps from here would be? On the impression that it had not been thought of before and no one on the planet has a patent pending on the idea/product etc...

My main concerns are that I am not a computer programmer as my idea is a computer program i will need to find a computer programmer who can attempt to create my idea, thats not really a problem. My problem is protecting the idea?

is it possible to protect an idea before its be created?

 

[Successful Selling]

The first thing I would do is see if there is a market for it. You said it would be 'highly lucrative if put in to production', but the right product at the wrong market or wrong price won't sell at all.

Obviously, you can't simply ask a few hundred people if they would purchase your product as they could copy your idea, but you do need to get an indication of if anyone actually will buy it.

Make sure you are true to yourself though. If you ask 50 friends if they would buy it, find out where they purchase their usual 'computer bits'. If it's at PC World the question isn't 'Would your mates buy it?' it's 'Will PC World buy it?'

Hope this makes sense.

 

[InternetMarketingPlatinum]

Hi all,

i've had an idea for a computer program which I believe will be highly lucrative if put in to production.

Unfortunately, i'm a total newbie when it comes to entrepreneurship and was wondering if any has any tips or advice on getting things going right for the off.

When i first had my idea i though it was so simple that i wondered if it had already been thought of, after spending a few hours looking round the web I have found no product like it and was wondering what my steps from here would be? On the impression that it had not been thought of before and no one on the planet has a patent pending on the idea/product etc...

My main concerns are that I am not a computer programmer as my idea is a computer program i will need to find a computer programmer who can attempt to create my idea, thats not really a problem. My problem is protecting the idea?

is it possible to protect an idea before its be created?

A Non-Disclosure Agreement would protect the idea. So what is your background in?

 

[iWantAnIslandTo]

A Non-Disclosure Agreement would protect the idea. So what is your background in?

Thanks for your response guys,

My background is in accounting so i have no kind of computer programming experience whatsoever. I can just about create a basic HTML website and thats using the design side of dreamweaver!

However, reading around the internet for a few days now. I hear that it is almost impossible to patent a computer programme unless you go for a US patent. Does anybody know if this is correct?

and also, successfull selling made some great points about researching the target market and potential customer base. This is a fantastic idea and is something that I will look into immediately.

Before i go ahead and do this would it be a good idea to ensure that my "invention" has not been patent protected beforehand?

Thanks in advance

 

[Astaroth]

Computer programs can only be patented in certain circumstances (from my understanding) if you look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_patent it explains it in a little more detail.

NDAs, in my opinion, aren't worth the paper they are written on for protecting "ideas". Ultimately if someone says they knew of the information before you told them then the NDA has no value. With sensitive company data, obviously someone wont know where as an idea for a website etc there is a reasonable chance someone else may have had the idea.

As others have suggested, first steps are to ensure there is a market and ensure the application can actually be created.

 

[TriciaRidgway]

Hi. No idea about computers but plenty about setting up in business. Market research essential and pricing research. There are plenty of wonderful ideas that will never get off the ground because they will not be profitable. You could look at the Business Link website & call them for info to help you as a starting point. Masses of info - magic word free!Tricia

 

[Connections_Media]

Hi all,

i've had an idea for a computer program which I believe will be highly lucrative if put in to production.

Unfortunately, i'm a total newbie when it comes to entrepreneurship and was wondering if any has any tips or advice on getting things going right for the off.

When i first had my idea i though it was so simple that i wondered if it had already been thought of, after spending a few hours looking round the web I have found no product like it and was wondering what my steps from here would be? On the impression that it had not been thought of before and no one on the planet has a patent pending on the idea/product etc...

My main concerns are that I am not a computer programmer as my idea is a computer program i will need to find a computer programmer who can attempt to create my idea, thats not really a problem. My problem is protecting the idea?

is it possible to protect an idea before its be created?

Hi, My dad owns a software company and he invests in ideas. Have you got a business plan available, he will be willing to sign an NDA first.

 

[TestAPlug]

You can protect a product but not an idea! However make sure the software developer signs an NDA Non Disclosure Agreement before comensing work. Also talk to business link they will be able to point you in the right direction. KEV

 

[Dave.F]

Hi, My dad owns a software company and he invests in ideas. Have you got a business plan available, he will be willing to sign an NDA first.

Has you Dad got a website?

Please PM or post it, as I also have an idea bugging me.....

 

[Marketester]

Hi IWAIT.

Successful selling is spot on about doing your research; if you try and launch something without a viable market you will watch all your money wash away. It's also not as simple as asking 50 mates, ou have to be careful of subjectivity. You could put a little survey on here, or on another site and link to it asking for some of us to fill it in.

If you're looking to get you're market research done with a wider panel, then pop over to our site (marketest.co.uk) and have a look around. You can register for free partial results of previous studies, if there are any that look useful. You can also get a free quote for your research.

Good luck.

 

[oldeagleeye]

I see. You are into accounting. I guarantee then you idea has been thought of before. In any event. Ideas - patents don't mean didly squat unless you have the funds to and management skills to market them.

Sorry OP but the bottom line is that you can find a script/programme for virtually everything these days written by professional programmers and given away free. It's called 'open source'.

No-one is going to invest any money or time in just an idea unless it is in the games industy and you can progamme youself. Them are the facts my friend.

Ignore them and like Martin Luther King you will wait 50 years to see an idea turn into reality.

Robert

 

[gman]

What is the idea? I wont copy it i promise

 

[oldeagleeye]

When will you guys ever learn. An idea ain't worth didly squat and an idea for a computer programme by someone that doesn't know anything about programming quite frankly is laughable.

Lets go back to square one. For any venture to be successful it needs a few fundementals in place.

(1) The entrepreneur must know what he or she is talking about and in this case it seems all the OP has is an idea and not a clue about whether the project is feasable or let alone if there is a USP so he falls at the first hurdle.

(2) No-one is going to invest in an idea or project unless you are going to invest in it yourself. The Op can't invest his time because he wouldn't know how to go about it. I doubt very much too that he has any funds to invest himself simply from his membership name. What that says to me is dreaming of an island in the sun.

(3) You can have the best idea. All the funding you need but without marketing experience it will fail - and it is in fact very didficult to find a good marketing professional. Oh they may know all the basics of course but one thing the vast majority forget is timing. They don't care of course once they have the contract under their belt but the market out there is ever changing and the window of opportunies are few.

Try to launch a business in mid November and you will have a serious cash-flow problem because by the time the promotion hits customers they will be thinking of Christmas. and in reality it is Feb the next year before things are back to normal workwise.

Try to target corporate customers when they have just spent the coming years budget another waste of time.

The bottom line OP is that you need more than an idea to create a business and I guarantee you one thing. As an amateur that knows nothing about programming I'll bet you a pound to a penny that there are dozens of web sites out there that have already taken your idea to market.

You just don't know how to find them.