Entrepreneurship
So here's the issue. I thought of an idea for a Web 2.0 application. I don't know what exactly to do. I had thought of the idea just before waking up a few days ago, and immediately it struck me that it may possibly be extremely useful. I will not divulge the details of the idea, for obvious reasons. So now my question is this: Where do I go from here?
Issue 1: Exposure. My intuition tells me that first I need to talk to someone, most likely one of my best friends, about the idea. There are certain issues I have with this. First, I don't know the actual protocol about how to introduce the idea to my friends. Am I expected, after I tell them, to give them equal claim and responsibility? Am I suddenly partners with them even though it is my idea? Obviously this is all under the assumption that it is a good idea, but these are the questions I have, as a selfish, ignorant, and I guess you can say, cynical college student. Currently I don't know what exactly I want or need from my friends, so is it even necessary to ask them in the first place? This is the first issue with coming up with an idea individually; I don't know who to tell and whether I should tell anyone. I'm pretty sure the answer is 'yes, you should tell someone," but who?
Issue 2: Execution. Since it is a computer science related idea, do I begin to start coding? Obviously I don't nearly have the experience in programming to code the idea that I have in mind. So do I consult my friends who would possibly have this experience, or do I start looking for people to fund the idea, and then begin looking for coders? Or do I start reading ridiculous amounts of code and practicing to become the coder needed to actually execute this task?
Issue 3: Progress. This is another issue. In order to sell your idea/product to a venture capitalist, at what stage does the idea need to be developed? In this instance, do I need to have it fully coded, or can I give them the conceptual foundation and then tell them I need more people to help me execute the idea? Bottom line: Will they fund an idea based on just the idea, or do they need the idea fully - or at least mostly - developed already?
My next intuition - by the way, all of my instincts may be completely wrong, and frankly I wouldn't be surprised if they were; I literally know nothing - would be to begin talking to EE, CS, and business professors about possible collaboration and whether they know any venture capitalists in the area? There are plenty of VCs in Silicon Valley, namely Sand Hill Road, but now I need to find people who have networking with these VCs. Or can I just call a VC up one day and tell them I'm a measly kid from Berkeley who has this really cool idea that I want to pursue further (yeah, that's probably not going to work.)
Alas, these are the questions I have about entrepreneurship. I certainly have the motivation and communication skills necessary to sell an idea, but I just don't have the technical knowledge or wherewithal to sit down, code, and voila, have the finished product write there in my terminal.
Hopefully this IEOR190A class on engineering entrepreneurship that I am taking next semester will be helpful in my deciding how to advance the idea. But right now, I need to move quickly if I want to see my name under the trademark instead of someone else's.
Please comment on this and provide your opinions on how to take an idea and make it a reality. It would be much appreciated.
P.S. I'm sure people are thinking, "Oh, this guy has an incredible idea," but I'm sure it's not great. I just don't know how to get the brutal criticism I need without revealing the idea to a lot of people.
Issue 1: Exposure. My intuition tells me that first I need to talk to someone, most likely one of my best friends, about the idea. There are certain issues I have with this. First, I don't know the actual protocol about how to introduce the idea to my friends. Am I expected, after I tell them, to give them equal claim and responsibility? Am I suddenly partners with them even though it is my idea? Obviously this is all under the assumption that it is a good idea, but these are the questions I have, as a selfish, ignorant, and I guess you can say, cynical college student. Currently I don't know what exactly I want or need from my friends, so is it even necessary to ask them in the first place? This is the first issue with coming up with an idea individually; I don't know who to tell and whether I should tell anyone. I'm pretty sure the answer is 'yes, you should tell someone," but who?
Issue 2: Execution. Since it is a computer science related idea, do I begin to start coding? Obviously I don't nearly have the experience in programming to code the idea that I have in mind. So do I consult my friends who would possibly have this experience, or do I start looking for people to fund the idea, and then begin looking for coders? Or do I start reading ridiculous amounts of code and practicing to become the coder needed to actually execute this task?
Issue 3: Progress. This is another issue. In order to sell your idea/product to a venture capitalist, at what stage does the idea need to be developed? In this instance, do I need to have it fully coded, or can I give them the conceptual foundation and then tell them I need more people to help me execute the idea? Bottom line: Will they fund an idea based on just the idea, or do they need the idea fully - or at least mostly - developed already?
My next intuition - by the way, all of my instincts may be completely wrong, and frankly I wouldn't be surprised if they were; I literally know nothing - would be to begin talking to EE, CS, and business professors about possible collaboration and whether they know any venture capitalists in the area? There are plenty of VCs in Silicon Valley, namely Sand Hill Road, but now I need to find people who have networking with these VCs. Or can I just call a VC up one day and tell them I'm a measly kid from Berkeley who has this really cool idea that I want to pursue further (yeah, that's probably not going to work.)
Alas, these are the questions I have about entrepreneurship. I certainly have the motivation and communication skills necessary to sell an idea, but I just don't have the technical knowledge or wherewithal to sit down, code, and voila, have the finished product write there in my terminal.
Hopefully this IEOR190A class on engineering entrepreneurship that I am taking next semester will be helpful in my deciding how to advance the idea. But right now, I need to move quickly if I want to see my name under the trademark instead of someone else's.
Please comment on this and provide your opinions on how to take an idea and make it a reality. It would be much appreciated.
P.S. I'm sure people are thinking, "Oh, this guy has an incredible idea," but I'm sure it's not great. I just don't know how to get the brutal criticism I need without revealing the idea to a lot of people.
Labels: 2.0, applications, berkeley, business, company, computer science, entrepeneurship, funding, idea, money, silicon valley, startup, technology, venture capitalist, web
posted by pavYedav at
7:03 PM
3 Comments:
My response was too long to leave as a comment.
I hope it's useful to you
Akshay
By
Akshay Krishnamurthy, At
December 5, 2007 9:39 PM
1. Exposure - In my experience at some point you have to tell someone about your idea. The reality is that nothing can be done on your own. I think that once the idea begins to materialize then you can start talking about percentages and who contributes more so therefore as more share or equity in something. I would say that since you have come up with the idea, you have more stake in it and therefore have a larger share of any residuals that come your way from it.
2. Execution - This is actually connected to the first point, Exposure. In order to execute you need people to help you. If going the venture capital route, be careful in disclosing anything to any Venture Capitalist. Instead of venture capitalist, the new breed funding monsters has taken the form of Hedge Funds. Don't count hedge funds out. That may be a huge source of capital with less intrusion. Venture Capitalists are infamous for being all up in your business. This is stuff I've heard. Don't sweat the coding stuff. Frame your idea first. Practice your 30 second pitch without giving out too much info. You should be detailed enough to explain the idea but vague enough for people to scratch their head and be like "how the hell is he going to do that? You can higher a team of programmers, our people, and don't count the Russians or Vietnamese out of the outsource mix either. I would concentrate of framing the idea. And keep the details, such as design docs and ER diagrams and Entity Relationship models and all that data driven stuff to you and those you trust or have come to an agreement with.
3. I'm sure if you can sell a Venture Capitalist or a Hedge Fund or whomever is financing you about your idea there are usual rounds of funding. Don't count out Angel Investors. As a matter of fact this can be the best route, especially if you have an Angel Investor who is not necessarily tech savvy but has the vision and the money to fund you. In this case you're dealing with one entity and not a team like with a Venture Capital company.
You'll be fine Pav. Ask the right questions and you'll get the right answers. It's wonderful to be a nerd but the minute you decide that you want to profit from your nerdly ways you cease to, or at least lose some of that nerdiness and you become a businessman. Case and point, Steve Jobs vs. Steve Wozniak. Jobs is no longer a nerd, he is a businessman, Wozniak is a true nerd at heart and is rich too. Choose wisely. There is no right answer only two schools of thought.
Also don't count out wisdom from age and experience. Nothing replaces it, not even a fancy degree or all the money in the world.
Sreenu
By
pushaudio, At
December 6, 2007 12:52 PM
Pavan, I'd be happy to provide a friendly VC audience if you want to run the idea by me.
swaroop..
By
swaroop, At
August 12, 2008 10:00 AM
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