Million Dollar Idea

[Pekka]

I'm fairly confident, that I have an idea that could make millions and millions of dollars. I'm actually 99% sure it would make huge amounts of money. Don't feel offended, I don't want to say what it is, because I think it's GREAT idea, I don't mean to be rude.
I have talked to few people I trust a little, and they all agreed. Only problem is, it only works in America. Only there it would be success. It is something, that all rich guys want, but can't get.

It's not a product, it would be kind of like service, I don't want to give out even littlest of bit. I am 100% sure that if someone with ability to produce it, they would definitely do it.

My problem is, I don't know what is the best way to start with it. Are there some kind of people who invest in these things, or professionals that could hear me out? I'm sure it's a good idea, very interesting at least. I really don't want to leak it, so it would have to be a pro listening my idea out, and then helping me to the right direction, and of course tell what they think about it, and if it's gold. I am very sure, that people wants it, especially people with money. If I'm leaving some vital information out, ask questions and I'll answer.

[Velociryx]

Pekka, if you have the next million dollar idea, by all means, run with it!

However, in order to run with it, you need to do two things:

1) You need to be prepared to share it. Nobody sees success in a vaccuum. While I agree that you are wise not to simply announce the details in the public fora, the key is to find people who have the stuff you need (be it a phone system, server farm, manufacturing plant, etc), and partner with them. That partnering though, will necessitate full disclosure.

2) You need to be willing to work at it nonstop till you see success.

If you're jazzed to do both, you're halfway there!

As to finding folks, a couple of great places to start would be with the us government. If it'll only work here, then you're in luck, cos the us government has grant and low interest loan programs available for import/export and small business startups.

If you are not a us citizen, then your first best move would be to partner with someone who is, so you can take advantage of the free and nearly free money to get the venture off the ground.

Once you find that someone, the next step is the formal business plan and application process to secure some money, and you're rolling....good luck!

-=Vel=-

[Pekka]

Thanks for your outstading answer .

I'm sure I would find partners in the US, I just don't know how to look for them. One of my friends actually is business student and when I told him this, he wanted to be in it right away. He only heard the idea, not even the details, which made us cream our pants.
It's HUGE amounts of work, just absolutely sick amounts of work to make it reallly good, and it has to be, or then it just won't work. But, we're willing, and we actually still think we will enjoy it very much. We are ready to put our lives to this, complete dedication, if we get green light.
The timing is perfect, even when it would be timeless.

I'm willing to say, that we would be selling ultimate experience that we know many wants. That's all I want to say here, I won't give out what it is. But if we can get it working, it is just so great it's almost nasty. The only negative is, that it's not cheap to get, but we trust on this one.

1.) I am ready to share it, but I just want to be sure that I share it with right kind of people. We feel this idea is tough to produce, but if it succeeds, sky is the limit. So we need the right kind of people.

2.) We are more than willing to work non stop with this one. Also we would be hiring some people in the US, so that's positive too I think. And I'm sure we could get the right people work for us, no problem. We already have ideas where to look for them, and we bet there are more people who want to work in it than we are able to employ.

I think the first thing we would need, is to have someone to talk, who is professional and can give us advice in if it is gold, or if there is some problems in the real producing part of this thing, that is problem in the US, and not in theory. In theory there shouldn't be any problems.

And I guarantee, that if someone wants to buy our service, they will never regret it, they will thank us to death for the opportunity they got and send us christmas cards and invite us for thanks givings. In fact, I'm not sure if we can have customers, because it would be too fun to just do it to ourselves .

[Pekka]

We know how we would have to proceed if we were to do it here, but it's almost impossible, so.. but the Americans will love it .

[ajbera]

Just remember to a) consult an attorney for legal matters, and b) have anyone else with whom you share your idea sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) to CYA (cover your a$$).

Best of luck!

[Jaakko]

The first rule of Fight Club is you don't talk about Fight Club.

[Velociryx]

It sounds *excellent* then! As to finding some people, you're on the right track in talking to your friend in the business school. If he doesn't have contacts already, I'd be willing to bet my next paycheck he knows some people who do, and all you need is a couple of leads....

Keep me posted, I'm interested!

(and I'll see if I can dig up a few links to some juicy government money while I'm at it!)

-=Vel=-

[Pekka]

Jaakko,

ajbera, I don't know what that means, NDA, but I'll keep that in my mind.

This to be succesfull, but needs few pros to work with us full time at first, so it would get expensive, and all the other things we would need to invest is going to be tough. Not impossible, but tough. But it's definitely worth every penny and then some if we can get it working, and if we can produce what we want, we KNOW it will work.

So, if this comes too tough in our way, is it possible to just sell the idea? It would be sad though, because it would be a blast to work in it. And shame to sell it, it's our baby!

[Pekka]

Velociryx, Thanks . I just can't see this failing if we can come with the stuff we need to. It needs 110% success in it, or else we will flop badly. I have trust though.
And if it works, or we get into talks with someone, I'll definitely keep everyone posted, because I'd be so proud of it, I couldn't be quite, Ming would just have to ban me.

My friend promised to talk to one of his professors, who is supposed to be magical, like if he likes the idea, then we really should go for it hard. He is majoring in some kind of business thing, but not international business, so we don't know US procedures etc. We are going to learn them though. So we need to find American, or someone who knows American way of doing this.

Also it's beautiful because if the idea is getting too old, we can easily change it to other simular kind of service, that would be great, I can already think of few huge sellers. It only fails if it's too megalomanic for us to do and we don't realize it. We would also be able to employ people, depends how expensive it gets. We'd be giving job opportunities to many students for short periods, and they would get the working experience they need in their business. I'm sure many people here would like to buy this, if they had the time and could afford it. I think it appeals very much to Americans.

[Urban Ranger]

Re: Million Dollar Idea

Originally posted by Pekka
Are there some kind of people who invest in these things, or professionals that could hear me out? I'm sure it's a good idea, very interesting at least.

They are called venture capitalists. Their job is to give $ to people who have the potential to make truckloads of moola but do not have the $ to start a company.

What you need to have is a business plan. The important part is your projection about when will you start making money and how much. The thing is it shouldn't be a wild guess, so you need some supporting evidence. Relevant research data from companies such as Gardner is good.

[Pekka]

Yeah, those people. We don't have enough money to start it, but we could do business plan, my buddy knows those things good.

It would be based in New York, it could really make success in there... we just have to start counting what kind of money it takes to make it working, detailed information. Like I said before, the only thing that could fail this is that it is too big for us to handle. We could start small though. We could get good PR too, give few reporters free ride, invite them..

.. so I guess we need to start crunching numbers. We don't want to look like fools or too unprofessonial or undedicated. We want to have good image before we present it to anyone that is important for this to happen.
I just hope it's not too expensive to start, first invesment would be rather large, after that we wouldn't need much though. I keep my fingers crossed.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Pekka
It would be based in New York, it could really make success in there... we just have to start counting what kind of money it takes to make it working, detailed information.

You don't. You want to base in the Caymen Islands or some such tax haven. BTW, you want an accountant or a lawyer on your team. So be prepared to spend time talking to people to bring them aboard. Work on your vision and long term goals. Or at least tell them there will be loads of $.

Originally posted by Pekka
Like I said before, the only thing that could fail this is that it is too big for us to handle. We could start small though. We could get good PR too, give few reporters free ride, invite them..

Remember the dotcom bust. These so called "CEO's" burned money like there's no tomorrow. Let them be a lesson to you.

Originally posted by Pekka
.. so I guess we need to start crunching numbers.

The dotcoms used to have two sets of plans. They present the optimistic plan to the venture capitalists to get $, and keep the realistic plan to themselves.

Originally posted by Pekka
We don't want to look like fools or too unprofessonial or undedicated. We want to have good image before we present it to anyone that is important for this to happen.

That's a good idea. Practice a lot before you make the pitch. You certainly don't want any hiccups. PowerPoint presentations is a must. So is bringing in your own notebook computer.

Originally posted by Pekka
I just hope it's not too expensive to start, first invesment would be rather large, after that we wouldn't need much though. I keep my fingers crossed.

I am a little confused - service industries tend to have a small initial outlay and a high fixed overhead, as opposed to manufacturing. However, you know your idea best.

[Zero]

My friend was looking to start a korean PC Bang ("internet Cafe" I guess) business in NYC... I suggested that he should try adding console systems and create an environment where kids can come and play console games at a cheaper price you would end up spending in arcade. The idea was great, there would have been plenty of kids who would be willing to come even though they can play at home, because game tournaments and such can be held to attract players thus creating an enviornment that you couldnt have at home by yourself... Everything was great and he was seriously thinking about doing that instead of internet cafe except there was 3 place in NY that already does it.

What Im sayin is if you have an idea, theres a good chance someone might have had it at one point. So you might wanna check to see if someone is making that idea come true before you are... or it already has happened.

[Pekka]

So are you suggesting we would give the more optimistic estimates to venture capitalists, and keep the realistic estimates to ourselves?

Yes, image is important. It doesn't mean you are good in real life, but if you don't look professional and confident, how can anyone else even expect that you can be any good?

I meant our selling would have to happen in New York, and most of our clients would be from there.
I think we can put up a real presentation since my buddy in this is graduating this summer from business school, and he's being doing all these kind of things all the time.
Also presenting the idea should not be a problem, not to sound like a big headed fool, but I can speak pretty good. Though I'm not always very comfortable in social situations, I can suck it up and go. I have lots of experience talking to crowds (up to 150 people) on regular basis when I was giving classes in the service and what not, had to speak to crowds all the time, teach and stuff like that.. where you have to act like you know your stuff, be confident and the man to listen. It differs from business world for sure, but at least we have some base to build on and practise. English would be a bit of a problem, not a big one, but my english is not exactly perfect, but with proper training I'm confident in myself.
After all, that is the most important part. Even with good concept, it's not going to get any chance if no one is interested, or you fail to perform. I don't feel pressure though because I believe in this and am excited, and I'm sure I can project it to others.

YEs, it's not exactly cheap to start. We are looking to deliver best quality possible. If we succeed, people will definitely roll in and have a time of their life. If we can't deliver enough, it just won't work at all. Right now I'm thinking of different ways to start cheaper, smaller, to be able to give it a go and build on that if and when it succeeds. But as I said, we need to employ people to make it happen, so this costs money we have to pay their salaries and other costs employer has to pay etc..

[Pekka]

I did internet search, and I couldn't find this anywhere what we're hoping to sell .

but that doesn't mean very much. I have to look harder if someone is already doing it.