The next Big thing

alleepally

I have a very good idea for an text messaging service which has not been thought of before. I have done a fully functioning "mock up" of it which can be demonstrated to show potential customers (i.e. customer can text a number I set up and they will see how it all works).

I need to approach one of the big companies that provide direct connections to the network providers to handle big volumes.

I also feel that to be taken seriously by two particular clients who can make use of my idea, it needs "heavyweights" behind it. If I go to them myself they probably wouldn't take me seriously.

My dilemma is that how do I go to one of the big companies and ensure they don't just say to me "yeah, we looked at the idea, won't work, sorry" and then a couple of weeks later they launch it themselves.

Anyone got any ideas on what way I should approach one of the text providers and ensure they don't just take the idea and do it themselves?

Pataman

The patents office would be my first call.

Victor

Originally posted by Pataman
The patents office would be my first call.

Ditto. You can't trust a big player not to just take your idea, re-engineer it and claim it to be their own.

Specky

This is pretty much the dilema every individual who believes they have a great idea finds themselves in.

Now I am going to say things that you will probably see as negative and critical but I'm afraid they are true. Sorry. I'm just trying to answer your query.

The bad news is that if you're in the position where you have to ask the question on boards then probably you either are not going to achieve your goal or it is going to take you a long time.

Technology based new ideas (especially those in an area of technology that may well be superceded by something else quite soon) need to get to market very rapidly. Ideas that require telcos or similar large organisations support to make them happen need to pack a punch or no-one will take any notice of you. Can your idea actually make a big enough influence on the telco's market share to make it worth them investing in it? Although there are lots of people with phones and lots of people using text messaging, how much of a premium would people pay to have your service?

To get in the door and make the necessary impression you clearly need to be talking to people who're already in or who've done it before. I'd guess that because you're asking this question here you don't know any of these people. You can get to know them but these people have "next big ideas" pouring across their desks every day so you need to be prepared before you approach them. Preparation means a business plan (not necessarily a prototype or a working model or any of those good things although obviously they make the technicalities of your idea easier to explain), the business plan explains the money and that's what people are interested in.

If you don't know how to write a business plan or you haven't done the sums you'll need to have done in order to write one then you'll need help. There are places you can go to get help with developing your business idea. The PDC springs to mind, their Hothouse programme is popular (www.pdc.ie), you could speak to Enterprise Ireland but to be frank they will tell you to speak to your city/county enterprise board and the supports they can provide are minimal. Either EI or the CEB will want you to do a feasibility study first, they can fund you to do this (up to about €7500 from the CEB, up to about €19000 from EI) but be aware that you have to spend (or somehow show you've expended) an equal amount in order to claim this grant back...Like I said, if you go to EI they probably won't even talk to you at this stage anyway.

Yes, you must protect your idea if you're intending to sell it on to someone else. If you don't then there is nothing for them to buy. but don't go looking to take out a worldwide patent 'cos it'll cost you a fortune (and it isn't a one off payment, you pay again every year to maintain a patent). There are cheap short term patents available now but I haven't looked at these much so you'd have to enqure of a patents lawyer (who will give you a first consultation free of charge usually).

Whatevr you do you're going to have to accept that the clock is ticking and whichever of these routes you take you aren't going to be in a position to get in the door to any potential customers for a while yet.

The thing is (and I'm giving you this trinket of information from a position of having gone through the slog from one end to the other myself) pretty much everyone has an idea at some stage that could probably be developed into a product, but you have to ask yourself do you really want to? It's not glamorous getting an idea off the ground (even if you're intending to sell the idea it isn't just a simple matter of handing it to a telco and collecting the cheque thanks very much), there's hard work, lots of frustration, a lot of long hours, a lot more frustration, money (your own money invariably goes into an idea at some stage), responsibility, loss of free time, stress, the possibility that you're going to fail for a whole list of reasons that probably have very little to do with the quality of your idea....did I mention the frustration?...

And to add one final point of positivity your belief that your ideas are unique can often be surprisingly short lived. Just because you don't see it out there now doesn't mean that either someone else has already done it (you just haven't seen it yet or they patented it but didn't develop it commercially), someone else is already developing it yet (and they're going to beat you to the finish line) or someone else has already looked at the idea and found it's not viable.

...but if you're convinced you want to do it then you're going to have to get one with it quick. You could always go talk to your CEB for some advice (although I'd have to say the quality of advice you get from these guys is highly variable depending on where you live, Dublin CEB is pretty good though).

The Corinthian

A word of caution with regard to dealing with the big players. If you walk off the street to them with an idea they will do one of three things:

1. Laugh at you and then think; “crap idea.”
2. Laugh at you and then think; “nice idea. We can do it ourselves” - which never happens because it gets lost in their organization’s beaurocracy.
3. Laugh at you and then think; “nice idea. We can do it ourselves” - and they roll an almost identical idea out six months to a year later.

You can get them to sign an NDA (many will just refuse to sign one with an effective nobody), but that won’t phase them as it will ultimately be the unlimited resources of another department fighting any potential legal battle. NDA’s a pretty useless, tbh.

To get their attention you want to approach them with a fait accompli, that your idea is practically completed and that you will be launching it with or without them within six months (ruling out their doing the same thing). Even then, nothing is likely to be rolled out for at least six months.

Anyhow, with regard to dealing with SME’s, I’m the director of such a company in the mobile sector. If you want to talk to us, we’ll see if there’s anything we can do that would be beneficial to both parties. Feel free to PM or email me directly.

alleepally

Thanks for the advice folks. Will bear it in mind.

Specky, I understand all of the pitfalls and that "everyone has a good idea" etc etc. I have my own company not in the technology area so I just posted here because one never knows who may have first hand experience of a similar situation and that's more or less what I was looking for.