[kamccleary]

I am in college and have had several ideas for start ups and am now finding the time to pursue these ideas however I am broke and would like to work with someone as a business partner and not just as my employee. How do I go about starting this venture? My ideas are trendy and concern a few business ideas to make reporting easier and to have different platforms for other sites as well as some trendy retail ideas along with child education. So many, I know. Please help!

[macosxnerd101]

I'll move this to the Corner Cubicle for now.

Are you looking for someone on Dream.in.Code to work with, or are you looking for advice on getting a startup going?

[kamccleary]

macosxnerd101, on 23 December 2011 - 09:00 AM, said:

I'll move this to the Corner Cubicle for now.

Are you looking for someone on Dream.in.Code to work with, or are you looking for advice on getting a startup going?

I want advice on how to start

[modi123_1]

... how to start *what*?! The start up, or finding a partner?

[macosxnerd101]

The business plan is always a good place to start. What are you doing? How do you plan to do it? What is your target market? How will you make money? What are your contingency plans? What benefit is it to the developer to join? Keep in mind that good IT people are in demand, and they aren't always willing to risk joining a startup venture as a partner due to the high risk of failure. There are plenty of projects, and most of us balance the time commitment to the monetary gain. Established firms can give us better salaries and fewer hours. A startup requires closer to 80-100 hours/week at least. Keep this in mind when trying to get an IT person on board. Better to go with someone you know if possible, then to keep hunting for people. Chances are, someone you know will be more motivated to work than someone who won't.

Another point is to talk with established entrepreneurs- people who have been through where you are now. Get lots of feedback on your idea. Angel investors and venture capitalists are good people to talk to as well. If your idea goes anywhere, you'll need funding and these people are common sources for obtaining capital. Trust me- nobody is going to steal your idea. If they were motivated enough by the idea, they'd want to join you. People who want to steal an idea generally don't want to put in the manpower to make it succeed.

[kamccleary]

macosxnerd101, on 23 December 2011 - 09:20 AM, said:

The business plan is always a good place to start. What are you doing? How do you plan to do it? What is your target market? How will you make money? What are your contingency plans? What benefit is it to the developer to join? Keep in mind that good IT people are in demand, and they aren't always willing to risk joining a startup venture as a partner due to the high risk of failure. There are plenty of projects, and most of us balance the time commitment to the monetary gain. Established firms can give us better salaries and fewer hours. A startup requires closer to 80-100 hours/week at least. Keep this in mind when trying to get an IT person on board. Better to go with someone you know if possible, then to keep hunting for people. Chances are, someone you know will be more motivated to work than someone who won't.

Another point is to talk with established entrepreneurs- people who have been through where you are now. Get lots of feedback on your idea. Angel investors and venture capitalists are good people to talk to as well. If your idea goes anywhere, you'll need funding and these people are common sources for obtaining capital. Trust me- nobody is going to steal your idea. If they were motivated enough by the idea, they'd want to join you. People who want to steal an idea generally don't want to put in the manpower to make it succeed.

This alone helps, believe me and I'm not trying to keep my ideas secret, I just have so many which is why I don't necessarily have a business plan for any of them. Plus, I don't know costs/expenses etc.. so I guess this is where I'm starting to figure that stuff out.

Right now, I want to create a platform that allows the users (this would just be for the general public) to have one userface that allows them to access three separate platforms within that one divided by their business networks for one platform containing their linkedin and other business profiles, their social networks containing twitter and facebook and their personal network containing their favorite sites or blogs.


I have also considered a program that I would like to develop that involves simple recording and embedding into client or employee reports for a business that would allow companies to explain documents (financials..reports...) all in one place. Think, opening a word document with videos on the side to explain the document)

And i suppose my final idea I will throw out there is- (think a collaboration between polyvore and pinterest if you are familiar with those)- a trendy website allowing users to search for products, hairstyles, room decor...everything basically...based off of their search of , say, christmas...it would include all things inspired by christmas.

And maybe these are horrible ideas but this is what I am using this for. I need someone to tell me these are horrible before i pursue them.

[Craig328]

kamccleary, on 23 December 2011 - 12:00 PM, said:

Right now, I want to create a platform that allows the users (this would just be for the general public) to have one userface that allows them to access three separate platforms within that one divided by their business networks for one platform containing their linkedin and other business profiles, their social networks containing twitter and facebook and their personal network containing their favorite sites or blogs.

Hootsuite already does this.

Your second suggestion is basically linked files. I've built something like that and did so nearly 10 years ago. I don't know anything about pinterest other than having heard of it and have never heard of polyvore.

Point is: before you do anything else, check to see if what you're considering has already been done. This doesn't necessarily mean you shouldn't pursue it but it helps to starkly define what you'd be competing against business-wise.