I have a business idea but I need advice

[dillpicklechips]

I'm a big fan of Bitcoin and have been thinking about new ideas and future trends. I've come up with what I think is a pretty novel way for "brick and mortar" stores everywhere to accept Bitcoin without the business having to understand or deal with Bitcoin. My target audience would be stores who may only do one Bitcoin transaction in a day, week, or even month.

My idea would be a close competitor to sites like BitPay. It operates in a very similar fashion but uses a method where the merchant doesn't have to do any computer set up or deal with APIs etc. The merchant can be completely clueless about computers and still accept Bitcoin easily.

I have no experience with business or programming. I'm not sure the best path I should take. If I try to find capable people to set it up, I'm pretty much the "idea guy" that's not really needed once it's set up. I'd also be setting myself up for direct competition with more established players who could copy my idea without too much work. Or, I could try selling my idea to a payment processor, but I'm worried they'll just say no, but copy my idea anyways.

What would you suggest I do? Any tips?

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[btceic]

Get a lawyer, and if you hire a programmer, force him to sign an NDA, which means that, if he steals your idea, you can sue him. Plus you may want to put him on a contract so he sticks around to finish the job.

No self respecting developer signs NDA's.

An idea is worth nothing unless you can bring it to market and sell it.

[dillpicklechips]

Thanks for the replies so far. I was hoping the word lawyer wouldn't come up. LOL. I'm pretty broke!

[atomium]

i think you should just go for it and execute the idea, dont waste time on finding a lawyer and all of that

[dillpicklechips]

i think you should just go for it and execute the idea, dont waste time on finding a lawyer and all of that

So just advertise that I'm looking for a programmer and run with it?

[franky1]

look at a typical town, there are several electricians, plumbers, security companies. so the worry of competition world wide is not an issue as the world is a big place and enough for everyone to try a bit of everything.

the same goes for ePoS terminals too. 7-11 stores use different software as walmart, as do bestbuy use different software. so lots of opportunities without worries of competition

it also decentralises services by having competition.

EG instead of having just bitinstant as the method into bitcoin and bitpay as the method out (as seen in late 2011- early 2012)

so i do not see the point of lawyers and NDA's. also start locally, in your own town. thus not needing plane tickets and hotel rooms to have meeting with potential merchants.(seeing as you will be starting with very limited funds, as admitted by yourself)

allow expansion as a later part of your plan. or as a franchise idea once funds start moving. but first thing is to get one local merchant under your belt using them as a reference to then accumulate the next few businesses using your idea.

[dillpicklechips]

so i do not see the point of lawyers and NDA's.

He is going to be what sounds like a payment processor, so he is going to need to get a lawyer at some point and it better to start early then wait until it is too late.

Good point. That kind of worries me a bit though. I will be taking BTC and converting to cash so that adds a little bit of legal work! Sigh. The more I think of it, the more I want to pitch my idea to an existing processor and see if they'll pay me from the goodness of their heart if it takes off!

[bigdude]

Get a lawyer, and if you hire a programmer, force him to sign an NDA, which means that, if he steals your idea, you can sue him. Plus you may want to put him on a contract so he sticks around to finish the job.

Lawyer ... already! hell no!

My advice, find a mentor, or someone with business experience willing to help out. They can give advice etc.

Forget about lawyers, NDA and that crap.

Concentrate on the idea itself, planning, and then implementation - not Bureaucracy

[BitcoinBarrel]

First and foremost don't post your idea on the internet.

[bigdude]

Get a lawyer, and if you hire a programmer, force him to sign an NDA, which means that, if he steals your idea, you can sue him. Plus you may want to put him on a contract so he sticks around to finish the job.

Lawyer ... already! hell no!

My advice, find a mentor, or someone with business experience willing to help out. They can give advice etc.

Forget about lawyers, NDA and that crap.

Concentrate on the idea itself, planning, and then implementation - not Bureaucracy

But can you explain what happens when the programmer steals your idea, and makes all the money? What do you do. You can't do anything. The guy asked how to protect himself, their is no other way to protect yourself. Plus he said basically he wants to start a payment processor, and that requires a lawyer. So sooner or later he will need a lawyer.

Yes he will eventually need a lawyer ... but not now.

Concentrate on the idea, get a prototype (beta, or even alpha) running. Get some functionality, even do some market testing - THEN get a lawyer involved to protect IP, and deal with regulations etc. There is no point spending startup $$$ on lawyers with out a real product or verifiable idea. Its a sheer waste of resources. If you have an abundance of resources (time and money), go for it, otherwise, stick to what matters.

As for an NDA, no harm it using one. But you dont really need a lawyer for that. Also, NDA are virtually useless. If someone really wants to rip off an idea, they will.

Also, don't forget that most developers are developers ... they are good at code - not business (yes this is generalising, and it is generally true )

[sockopen]

I'm a big fan of Bitcoin and have been thinking about new ideas and future trends. I've come up with what I think is a pretty novel way for "brick and mortar" stores everywhere to accept Bitcoin without the business having to understand or deal with Bitcoin. My target audience would be stores who may only do one Bitcoin transaction in a day, week, or even month.

My idea would be a close competitor to sites like BitPay. It operates in a very similar fashion but uses a method where the merchant doesn't have to do any computer set up or deal with APIs etc. The merchant can be completely clueless about computers and still accept Bitcoin easily.

I have no experience with business or programming. I'm not sure the best path I should take. If I try to find capable people to set it up, I'm pretty much the "idea guy" that's not really needed once it's set up. I'd also be setting myself up for direct competition with more established players who could copy my idea without too much work. Or, I could try selling my idea to a payment processor, but I'm worried they'll just say no, but copy my idea anyways.

What would you suggest I do? Any tips?

Find a programmer who wants to hop on board and start rolling out with the idea as soon as possible. Larger companies move slower, you need to act immediately on your ideas or they go stale. Don't waste your time or money with a lawyer initially, you need at least a prototype up and running.

[franky1]

so i do not see the point of lawyers and NDA's.

He is going to be what sounds like a payment processor, so he is going to need to get a lawyer at some point and it better to start early then wait until it is too late.

kinda...

Yes he will eventually need a lawyer ... but not now.

Concentrate on the idea, get a prototype (beta, or even alpha) running. Get some functionality, even do some market testing - THEN get a lawyer involved to protect IP, and deal with regulations etc. There is no point spending startup $$$ on lawyers with out a real product or verifiable idea. Its a sheer waste of resources. If you have an abundance of resources (time and money), go for it, otherwise, stick to what matters.

As for an NDA, no harm it using one. But you dont really need a lawyer for that. Also, NDA are virtually useless. If someone really wants to rip off an idea, they will.

Also, don't forget that most developers are developers ... they are good at code - not business (yes this is generalising, and it is generally true )

but this is what i meant by not needing the lawyer/NDA.. for the regulations of money transmission you don't need a lawyer but it can help.. but thats something you will need later on, not right away

[BitBank]

Read "The 10-Day MBA", develop a marketing strategy, develop revenue model and assess viability, hire a freelance developer to develop a prototype, raise funds, go to market, execute, rasise more funds, expand, raise more funds, expand, raise more funds, go public or get bought out.

good luck

[Insu Dra]

Get a lawyer, and if you hire a programmer, force him to sign an NDA, which means that, if he steals your idea, you can sue him. Plus you may want to put him on a contract so he sticks around to finish the job.

No self respecting developer signs NDA's.
An idea is worth nothing unless you can bring it to market and sell it.

Wtf ... Any self respecting programmer with "start-up" xp will not get involved unless the paperwork and NDA's are in order!

Get things right first time around, there are meany sharks out there that will steal code and/or idea's without blinking. Speaking from xp here: first time over a year, second time months of work/time gone because the paperwork wasn't in order. (third time ? sorry guy's not gone happen)

On top of that if you have no xp with ether start-ups or programming learn some of the basics before you get in, then you at least know the in/out's before you start talking to people ... don't be the idea guy to meany of those around, learn the skills to execute at least the basics. (experts to finish/complete things can be hired later)

You are in luck as well, coursa Startup Engineering starts on Monday. It will cover all aspects of doing a basics web start-up (don't let programing part scare you, basics are not that hard at all)
https://www.coursera.org/course/startup

[franky1]

well zuckerburg done well without NDA, so did bill gates and the other guys when they first started.

and as for regulation for money transmitters, you dont need a lawyer, you just need to speak to the financial institutions.

lawyers are expensive, there are better methods of getting the answers you need. normally going straight to the source works best

[Insu Dra]

well zuckerburg done well without NDA, so did bill gates and the other guys when they first started.

and as for regulation for money transmitters, you dont need a lawyer, you just need to speak to the financial institutions.

lawyers are expensive, there are better methods of getting the answers you need. normally going straight to the source works best

What ? *25* and *10* years ago, times change. If you wane gamble sure do it without nda's or contracts ... There are always winners and losers, with zuckerberg and gates your only pointing out the winners and nether of them where just the idea guy's.

As to lawyers yes there expensive for some stuff but for basic paper work ... not at all, that stuff is just the side dish for them.

[BitBank]

Filing for IP early helps, as well.  For instance, the first thing I did was file for a registered trademark / service mark on BitBank.  Then, I spent a month or so developing things using my own skills, and only when I had exhausted the extent of my abilities did I look to hire outside help.

[Insu Dra]

You are in luck as well, coursa Startup Engineering starts on Monday. It will cover all aspects of doing a basics web start-up (don't let programing part scare you, basics are not that hard at all)
https://www.coursera.org/course/startup

Little did I know, the first 7 video's all mention bitcoin ... Goal of class build a bitcoin crowd funding project. Part of your results is based on how meany bitcoins you raised. ... 

[firefop]

I think most of the advice is off on completely the wrong track. Instead of trying to fit your idea into the existing framework of "how to make money" why don't you fit it into a different framework where you make more money off everyone being able to use your idea and/or service.

If you're having trouble finding the path to profit off your idea... maybe it isn't a great idea... or maybe you just lack business experience. Either way - at some point you're going to have to trust someone or you'll end up doing all the work yourself.