How to sell your ideas

DerekS · May 18, 2011

good luck pal....ive been pitching an idea for a great product that is a combo dog pop scoop, ironing board, non stick skillet, sandwhich maker, happy ending giver, and coupon clipper. nobody has given me a feckin dime yet.

bringusingoodale · May 18, 2011

Funny, the other day I was talking about a great idea for an app I had.

But seeing how I have no background in design, software or coding, what good is a good idea?

Wtf does having a good idea matter? Can one even "pitch" these type of ides? If so, what keeps an software engineering firm from having their coders design and develop the app in about 3 days and eventually make it theirs while I sit and wait for them to "get back to me"?

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

Having a good idea means next to nothing it seems.

CouttsClient · May 18, 2011

The "great idea" is largely a myth. If the execution is perfect, the idea doesn't need to be "great". I have found this to be true in my own life. I created my first 3 companies for all less than $1000 at startup. Generally when someone pitches me an idea they haven't gotten off the ground because they lack funds...the idea usually isn't all that great. Great ideas don't make great entrepreneurs. Create something and usually help and money will find you An easy read on this subject from a wealthy man's perspective: http://www.amazon.com/How-Get-Rich-F.../dp/0091912652

WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST MYTHS YOU KNOW REGARDING GETTING RICH? The first is the claim that people did not set out to get rich but became rich by 'accident'. 'Oh, I only did what I love to do and woke up one day to find myself wealthy.' That sort of thing. It may have happened. But very rarely in my experience. Some people are merely better at disguising desire, that's all. Others, usually not those you would care to spend a vacation with, have a naked lust for money stamped on their features, evident in even their most commonplace conversations. But a capacity for disguise and dissimulation doesn't alter the fact that the vast majority of the self-made rich worked, secretly or openly, like billy-o to acquire their wealth. The second myth is that people got rich by having a 'great idea'. While this is a more feasible hypothesis than having got rich by accident, it is a trap, because it is a partial truth. All of us have had great ideas from time to rime. I have had a great idea for a kind of Spiderman gun that would shoot out a sticky web at a burglar in your house and disable them without harming them. Will it get made? Probably not. The follow-through, the execution, is a thousand times more important than a 'great idea'. In fact, if the execution is perfect, it sometimes barely matters what the idea is. If you want to get rich, don't sit around waiting for inspiration to strike. Just get busy getting rich. Thirdly, and lastly, I think that perhaps the most destructive myth about becoming rich lies in remarks like: 'Well, it was OK for you starting out in the late 1960s. But times have moved on. You couldn't do it that way today.' Perhaps not, but you can certainly do it some way. Times change, but human nature, the lure of wealth and the determination to acquire it remain a shining constant in the world of ambitious men and women. The example of others not even born in the 1960s is all around you. They prove such thinking to be false. If you think that it can't be done and dwell on that thought too long, then you are likely to remain poor. It's as simple as that.

KPO89 · May 18, 2011

Originally Posted by bringusingoodale

Funny, the other day I was talking about a great idea for an app I had.

But seeing how I have no background in design, software or coding, what good is a good idea?

Wtf does having a good idea matter? Can one even "pitch" these type of ides? If so, what keeps an software engineering firm from having their coders design and develop the app in about 3 days and eventually make it theirs while I sit and wait for them to "get back to me"?

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

Having a good idea means next to nothing it seems.

Yep...that is exactly my scenario. I guess the only option is to take classes to design them.

KPO89 · May 18, 2011

Originally Posted by CouttsClient

The "great idea" is largely a myth.

If the execution is perfect, the idea doesn't need to be "great". I have found this to be true in my own life. I created my first 3 companies for all less than $1000 at startup. Generally when someone pitches me an idea they haven't gotten off the ground because they lack funds...the idea usually isn't all that great. Great ideas don't make great entrepreneurs. Create something and usually help and money will find you

An easy read on this subject from a wealthy man's perspective: http://www.amazon.com/How-Get-Rich-F.../dp/0091912652

Having taken the time to read your quote....I suppose I have always agree with that but never thought about it in that way. Great way to put it.

CouttsClient · May 18, 2011

Originally Posted by KPO89

Yep...that is exactly my scenario. I guess the only option is to take classes to design them.
Yes. In order to start I had to do basically everything myself. Even things I had no clue how to do. If you really want to create something, people who would give you money want to see that you can actually create something they can sell

michaeljkrell · May 19, 2011

Vaynerchuk's parting words before opening it up for Q&A: "Ideas are ****. Execution’s the game." This draws applause, but Vaynerchuk doesn't pause. He's, again, fired up. “The next time one of your friends rolls up on you and says, "Oh, crap, they stole my idea," punch them in the ******* mouth." http://www.siliconprairienews.com/20...orning-edition

bbaquiran · May 19, 2011

Originally Posted by KPO89

Yep...that is exactly my scenario. I guess the only option is to take classes to design them.

Is this something you can outsource?

oman · May 19, 2011

Originally Posted by KPO89

Aren't we suppose to keep the thread ******** to a minimum in this forum?
no, i think you're confused - we're supposed to keep the **** threads to a minimum

KPO89 · May 19, 2011

Originally Posted by bbaquiran

Is this something you can outsource?

I have seen certain companies that offer app development but I am not sure how comprehensive this would be.

michaeljkrell · May 19, 2011

Originally Posted by KPO89

I have seen certain companies that offer app development but I am not sure how comprehensive this would be.

Put up the project for bid on odesk or elance...

Wolfador · May 19, 2011

If you do not have any design or programming experience you will probably have to pay someone to create the app for you. It will be hard to find a programmer of quality to do a pure profit sharing when they are doing all of the work and you simply had the idea. I am a part-time iOS developer and people come to me all the time with ideas and want me to build it and split profits 50/50.

You might be able to find someone who will implement your idea and simply pay you a 5-10% royalty but it would have to be a really good idea where they can make enough profit to justify that. (Apple already takes 30% off the top on any app sale)

coop86 · May 19, 2011

Originally Posted by KPO89

I have seen certain companies that offer app development but I am not sure how comprehensive this would be.

There has to be a forum or place where you can higher independent programmers to build programs. Just make sure you have a good non-compete agreement that they sign so they don't just clone your app after you pay them money to create it.

michaeljkrell · May 19, 2011

Originally Posted by coop86

There has to be a forum or place where you can higher independent programmers to build programs.

Odesk and elance...

Cavalier · May 21, 2011

The less you develop the idea on your own, the more equity you will have to give away in order to get help. Thus you will be diluting your own interest in the project.

Also, for app ideas --- I know a college professor who is the former CEO of a big tech company and does a little VC, he's looking to brush up on his programming skills with an App -- I would be happy to pass his info along.

How to sell your ideas

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