I have a great idea....

tony84

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Apr 14, 2008
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I know there are billions of these dotted about the internet.

Long story short, I am happy to invest time and money. I have the contacts in the industry to get it off the ground. What I dont have is the thousands it would probably cost me to hire a developer to build it.

Does anyone know where I would be best going for someone who would either invest the money or become a partner who does the IT bit?
 

tony84

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I am a Mortgage broker. I am not looking for a Mortgage.
I may potentially go down the route of getting finance but I have just moved house (bigger mortgage and bills) and have a new born. So I am reluctant to be taking on more financial commitments at the minute.

I am working on a mock up of what I am looking to do, but my IT skills are nowhere near what they need to be to get to the finished product.
 
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ADW

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Oct 25, 2007
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I have heard of developers doing work such as this on a partnership basis but finding the right person will be hard like any working partnership. Is it more design orientated or software development needed? Specific referrals i would personally prefer as jumping on a relevant industry forum would see all sorts promising stuff?

I am sure there are people on here who will know how well this might work or whether you are better trying to keep it in-house. The latter would be my main aim if you believe the business side of things you have in hand. Have you had any initial coatings on what it might cost for what development you require?
 
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ADW

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I thought this thread was a joke - somebody who specialises in getting money is looking for money!

I thought it was going to be a joke first of all but guess Tony might want a real bot of feedback. He is probably very aware he is posting the same thing many jump on here asking with thwir very first post. It is surprisingly hard to ask a question similar to this and get taken seriously. You know you end up in a similar ball park to all them people with their heads in the clouds.
 
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GoingOnline

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Jun 18, 2011
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As an IT person, I get approached at least monthly by people who have ideas and want me to work for future payments, equity, etc...

Unless they are willing to hand over a large amount of equity, and the idea is actually brilliant and doable and lots of due diligence is made available I usually say thanks but no thanks. Particularly if I am just the IT person, and I have no control over anything else.

You may have better luck making an MVP happen, at a lower cost, or even getting a web page up to gather interest and using that to get actual investment. But it's a really difficult gig.
 
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tony84

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I read loads of these threads, the title was supposed to be a joke/sarcastic.
Unllike most of these threads, I have more to give than a great idea that will earn us millions if someone else does 99% of the work.

I have the contacts, I have the experience, I have the people in place to get this going for a soft launch at least and I have already made tentaive enquiries with some of the people that can make or break the idea - it helps that I know these people and have shared a pint with them on several occassions.

I am not looking to offer someone 5% for doing the donkey work. This is a pretty fundamental part to the idea and so unless I have the bank balance to support it, the person getting involved is going to want a hefty share.

I am not looking to disclose the details on here. I am just looking for where to go with it.

I have read that back and it reads right arsey doesnt it! Thats not the intention, but I just want to get across I am not a kid out of college with crazy ideas. It is at an early stage, it may work, it may not - but that is why I want someone onboard who I can discuss it with, without having to outlay £100 an hour to have that chat.

Hopefully that helps. Im not sure it puts more meat on the bones, but it should show I am not looking to waste anyones time, least of all my own.
 
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ADW

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Oct 25, 2007
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Is it software / coding/ design you are needing? Different skillsets are needed depending on the specific need and also a different price tag.

If the idea is that good and you have the skills to basically do everything else, I would try and keep full control yourself. If a few years down the road you have a very successful business and 30% is handed over to someone who did a few weeks work at the start and little else it might start to grind.
 
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Talay

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Mar 12, 2012
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Over years, I have had a few ideas which were, seemingly, ahead of their time.

I tried, unsuccessfully I might add, to get a website and database built which would allow real time booking of apartments (I was not focusing on hotel rooms) for short stay (and longer) holidays.

I put a fair amount of time into it, plus some money and had six figures available if we could take it off the plan into production.

This was circa 2006/7 - well ahead of the AirBnB type of thing but being overseas at the time, my available human resources were limited. In the end, all roads turned into dead ends.

What I lacked, was not the business plan or the money but the contacts. I didn't want (or need) to give away equity but I would have done so for the right person.

To me Tony, you are both short of the contacts and the cash.

When you state:

I have the people in place to get this going for a soft launch at least and I have already made tentaive enquiries with some of the people that can make or break the idea - it helps that I know these people and have shared a pint with them on several occassions.

don't any of these people have enough vision to invest and if you are only really talking about a few thousand to get a NDA written up and approach designers for quotes then doesn't that tell you something.

Surely they should be queuing up to invest - no ?
 
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tony84

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Imagine trying to get your product into one of the supermarkets. I know the equivalent to the buyers and people higher up. I do have the contacts, but they can not get involved due to conflicts of interest. They can however ensure I do get passed the first hurdle.

I am pretty sure, that is the one thing I do have.
 
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Talay

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Mar 12, 2012
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Imagine trying to get your product into one of the supermarkets. I know the equivalent to the buyers and people higher up. I do have the contacts, but they can not get involved due to conflicts of interest. They can however ensure I do get passed the first hurdle.

I am pretty sure, that is the one thing I do have.

Quite different to get 1 of 40,000 products onto a shelf compared to say, getting them to change the way, for instance, they track customer retention.

Inventing or producing a product is one thing but developing a platform, delivery channel or service is quite another. In the former, it is merely an addition to a portfolio but in the latter, it is a strategic shift to another way of doing business.

Much more lucrative but also likely they will have already thought of something similar previously and if not, the development costs and ongoing support will be hugely expensive.
 
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