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Almost all of us has had that Ah Ha! Moment.
We come up with an idea so brilliant, that instead of sharing it. We only talk to people about it if we’re protected with an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement). And even though there is no chance we can implement the ideas on our own, we still believe it has value.
So what do we do?
If it’s a bio-medical idea, we search for that person with the PHD to try to poach them from their high paying jobs to do “free research”.
If it’s a development project, we look for the first programmer we can find and we tell them, because I came up with the idea, let’s do a 75-25 split. That’s only 25% equity for you, but you do all the programming work.
That’s a problem JMarley ran into.
He says,
“I’m a 9-5 career developer and, like most of you, I’m always keeping my eye open for “big-break” opportunities.
I’ve taken stabs at the iPhone market, albeit to little success (everything I’ve added has been of the “exactly like a dozen other apps” variety), and have tried blogging but no one seems to be interested in my admittedly commonplace positions.
I’m a very good software developer, however, with a history of delivering excellent software on time and with excellent quality and performance.
Recently a co-worker, seeking me out because I’m respected for my developer chops, sought me out and made a business proposal. First they awkwardly made me sign an NDA, which honestly I found offensive (were they telling me state secrets?), and then they told me their idea for a product that would be delivered as both an iPhone app and a web app.
The idea was neat, but they want to draw up a partnership agreement that puts their stake in the venture at 75%. To deliver this vision, they’ll give some GUI and usability guidance, but I’m going to be the chump busting his back every night and weekend for months to come, so I’m quite unhappy about this.
What do you think?”
Respond to his question of whether ideas have intrinsic value at Startups.com
May 4th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
Ideas have no value. Thomas Edison only had one original idea: The phonograph. The rest of his inventions, including the light bulb, were significant improvements over other peoples’ ideas.
Some suggestions:
Name your price. State that, in addition to 25% equity, you expect to be paid for your time. Be firm.
State that, until you have a functioning prototype, you would prefer to work in a smaller team.
When starting out, instead of equity, state that you would rather have full ownership of something “tangible,” like source code. Make it clear that you intend on transferring ownership in exchange for equity at a later date. If they laugh, you might want to hint at how hard it is to find someone like you.