Finding a Business Partner

[TBiggs]

How do you present your ideas to a potential partner while making sure they won't steal your idea?

[Gr-Andy]

Make them sign an NDA. That always works for me.

[rogercbryan]

Unless your idea is a completely new / never been done before idea you should be able to get away with just presenting a basic business plan. In many cases people try to over protect their idea and are not willing to present enough information for a potential investor to feel comfortable handing over any money.

You have to ask yourself if you have a revolutionary idea or if it is something that many other people have already done. When I look to invest in a company I need to be able to do my due diligence in order to feel comfortable with what I’m doing. At the vey minimum you need to have a business plan that lays out the basis of your idea, what you want from a partner/investor, how you will spend the money, and what the partner/investor will get in exchange for their investment. Try doing a Google Search for ‘writing a business plan’. There are many great resources out there.

Once you have a business plan I would love to see it.

*This is not legal advice and should not be misconstrued as legal advice. Please consult an attorney before doing any dealing based on the information in this post.

[DTCCuser]

Today it doesn't matter if one steals your idea. In this world, what we are talking about now is speed. Everything requires speed. I believe if you are fast in your actions you are sure to make it, even if there are others copying you.
Just my two cent thoughts.

[jandmsolution]

Dont post it on a forum. Face to Face only. I had one friend actually tape the whole meeting. It was a bit over the edge but he got the funding.

[BusinessAdviser]

Face to face will not protect an idea, as the listener can always take what they hear and run with it.

A NDA is a good option.

However, as Roger mentioned, often much is lost by overprotection.

[rogercbryan]

Today it doesn't matter if one steals your idea. In this world, what we are talking about now is speed. Everything requires speed. I believe if you are fast in your actions you are sure to make it, even if there are others copying you.
Just my two cent thoughts.

This comment makes me nervous. People tend to think they need to move fast to capitalize on an idea. This is often not the case. Unless you have a revolutionary new idea you're better off moving slowly. To many businesses fail becuase they are launched with out proper planning. They try to move to fast and totally over look an important factor.

It takes time and maturity to venture into a business that will reach the $1M in sales mark. It takes even more to go from $1M to $5M. My point is you need to plan properly and move at a speed that is relative to your idea and your industry.

[pentupentropy]

NDA's are completely useless. If you are looking for a partner, unless it's going to be a partner who funds you, you should have nothing to worry about. People who are strictly investors don't usually steal ideas. They've made enough money in life to let their money do the work for them now and they're not looking to bust their rump if they don't have to. If anyone here can actually prove to me that they've had a potential partner OR investor sign an NDA I'd be surprised. But please, scan and post it.

About the only time you're ever going to need an NDA is if you have something revolutionary that can be produced cheaply and will skyrocket into a market. 99% of the time this is not the case. If you do come across a situation where one is useful, you're going to be paying about $600-$100 for a decent one from a good attorney. Don't use one of the ones you find on the net because there may be discrepancies due to your business plan and a good attorney should be able to pick most of that up. Find one that has experience in the area with which you deal.

[BusinessAdviser]

NDA's are completely useless. If you are looking for a partner, unless it's going to be a partner who funds you, you should have nothing to worry about. People who are strictly investors don't usually steal ideas. They've made enough money in life to let their money do the work for them now and they're not looking to bust their rump if they don't have to. If anyone here can actually prove to me that they've had a potential partner OR investor sign an NDA I'd be surprised. But please, scan and post it.

About the only time you're ever going to need an NDA is if you have something revolutionary that can be produced cheaply and will skyrocket into a market. 99% of the time this is not the case. If you do come across a situation where one is useful, you're going to be paying about $600-$100 for a decent one from a good attorney. Don't use one of the ones you find on the net because there may be discrepancies due to your business plan and a good attorney should be able to pick most of that up. Find one that has experience in the area with which you deal.

"Completely useless," huh? How so?

[akula]

Make them sign an NDA. That always works for me.

it's not an nda you dope
it's a non-compete agreement
an nda doesn't operate to "stop people from stealing ideas"
a non-compete does

[BusinessAdviser]

Non-Disclosure Agreement, Confidentiality Agreement, Non-Compete Agreement ... whatever. Regardless of what you title the document, you hopefully have a contractual agreement under which the party receiving the information agrees neither to disclose the information received to anyone else nor to use it to his/her own advantage.

Such agreements are NOT completely useless, pentupentropy. (In fact, not only is it ridiculous that you would make such a statement, but it is against the law to offer such legal advice, unless you're a licensed attorney, of course.) I have used them before, and to be quite honest, from an investors point of view, I would question someone coming to me without one.