[adrizzle]

Looks like he knows what he's doing and if he has really sold 20% of his company at age 16 he must have a brilliant idea.

[MsNadi]

Originally Posted by akula

touche.

here's why I won't sign NDA:

1) It's impractical for the entrepreneur; because if I sign an NDA, they'll need to sign a no shop provision and an exploding term sheet. It's tit for tat. Creation of new rights for entrepreneur must be offset by creation of new rights for the opposing party.

2) It's impractical and immoral for me to sign an NDA because if I did, I wouldn't be able to go down to the shops to pick up a pack of smokes without infringing someones confidentiality. Namely, an NDA places restrictions on the kinds of alternative investments I may and may not make.

This is a restrictive trade practice and it's immoral, because its restrictive.

3) It's untactical. The entrepreneur has little BATNA, and signing something when you don't have to, is just misplaced altruism.

4) It's unpredictable. Say I sign an NDA. It turns out the entrepreneur is a redneck nazi sympathiser and I don't want to have anything to do with her. But I like the space. And I fund an alternative startup in that space. The redneck has a cause of action and irrespective of whether they're likely to win - they'll use this cause of action to black mail my investee. Signing one entrepreneur' NDA creates disadvantages for other entrepreneurs.

5) I just don't like people who don't trust me.

The best NDA is someones reputation. The venture biz is a small industry. Everyone knows everyone else, and people who breach confidentiality will suffer professional disadvantage (to use a euphemism).

Since you seem to be coming from the other side - is it totally unreasonable to think that a VCF or Invetsor might take a look at your business plan, see some MAJOR flaws in it, but realize the beauty of the concept, and take that concept and pursuit it elsewhere??

...or is that a serious imagination in overdrive?

[akula]

Originally Posted by MsNadi

Since you seem to be coming from the other side - is it totally unreasonable to think that a VCF or Invetsor might take a look at your business plan, see some MAJOR flaws in it, but realize the beauty of the concept, and take that concept and pursuit it elsewhere??

...or is that a serious imagination in overdrive?

No, it's quite possible.

As the saying goes - If you have a good idea - you're gonna have at least 5 competitors. If you have a great idea- it's gonna be at least 100.

With investors - we talk to about 10 different people doing the same thing at any one time. It's very possible that your idea will be noted and implemented else where. And there is nothing wrong with that.

If the entrepreneur believes they can successfully execute an idea to reach 100% market share and fail to benefit from competition - that's hyperactive imagination bordering on naivety.

Originally Posted by akula

No, it's quite possible.

As the saying goes - If you have a good idea - you're gonna have at least 5 competitors. If you have a great idea- it's gonna be at least 100.

With investors - we talk to about 10 different people doing the same thing at any one time. It's very possible that your idea will be noted and implemented else where. And there is nothing wrong with that.

If the entrepreneur believes they can successfully execute an idea to reach 100% market share and fail to benefit from competition - that's hyperactive imagination bordering on naivety.

Yes the fundamental thing I think most young entrepreneurs do not realise is that.. yeah you have a good idea.. it may or may not be unique.. but its how you pursue and manage this idea to make it into a large successful company thats the important bit.. take a look at Steve Jobs and creating the first operating system, yeah he had a great idea.... but he didn't know how or what to do with this and thats were Bill Gates came in and used his business knowledge and made the deal with IBM that has him at the number 1 spot on the worlds richest people opposed to Steve.

[akula]

Originally Posted by Scott Taylor

Yes the fundamental thing I think most young entrepreneurs do not realise is that.. yeah you have a good idea.. it may or may not be unique.. but its how you pursue and manage this idea to make it into a large successful company thats the important bit.. take a look at Steve Jobs and creating the first operating system, yeah he had a great idea.... but he didn't know how or what to do with this and thats were Bill Gates came in and used his business knowledge and made the deal with IBM that has him at the number 1 spot on the worlds richest people opposed to Steve.

Very good point, and a classic example. Another one is McDonald's, who consistently make inferior burgers but happen to kick everyone's ass.

Good ideas have very little do do with good startups. This is just a product of plain arithmetics:

A successful startup is a product of at least 20 different salient features.

One of these features is a marketing plan.

The plan it self has at least 4 separate components.

Only one of these components is product attributes (i.e. what people usually define as a good idea)

Therefore, good product design is just one of at least 20 different attributes that make for a good startup.

And of course, the situation becomes more complicated when these attributes are ranked in order of importance.

finally: anyone who thinks that business success has to do with good ideas should spend some time looking through their local patents database, to find that they are sadly mistaken.

[MfG]

smart guy scott, hope you do well

Originally Posted by MfG

smart guy scott, hope you do well

thank you

[DerekC]

yes, I must say I feel very humbeled lol. Congrats Scott, you are def on a good start

[cokeclassact]

is this your first venture? what inspired you?