Hi Guys, I have been developing businesses for over 20 years now in the tech

sector, and with this recession business development, knowing your market

and having strong seed clients is the name of the game. 

You don't need to worry about signing an NDA if your idea is novel and you

have all of the structures mentioned above in place plus a fast track to

market already (that'll force the VCs to make their minds up fast!) and if

you are a me-too the same applies.
I mentor companies in the knowledge industry and interactive ent space. I

run major conferences too so if anyone here would like some 1:1 advice or

wants to explore getting their presence up and out into the market and get

in front of the right people (those with money to invest or budget to spend)

then get in touch directly.
Companies will still spend, so will consumers but the market has changed and

businesses have to be viable from day 1 again, rather then 'futures'. I know

the VCs are largely no longer interested in those.
I have been looking at various biz models where micro-transactions in one

sector can fuel other sector expansion and I have been 'heretical' about

proposing ROI models to some horizontal markets like training where you, as

the client, can make money from your content development (e.g America's Army

game rolled out on PS2). There is still a lot of short-sighted thinking but

I believe that these models will ultimately take off, especially as

cost-bases will IMO be rolled out as managed services and taken off the

balance sheet that way. Love to hear your views on this. 
Contact me also for any biz dev advice.
Martine

[address removed]
-----Original Message-----

From: [address removed] [mailto:[address removed]] On

Behalf Of Kay Vasey

Sent: 26 December 2008 12:30

To: [address removed]

Subject: [!! SPAM] Re: [entrepreneur-1056] Advice needed for start-up
Hi Taufiq
My business partner and I are both lawyers by day and we recently (September

2008) secured investment from 5 women business angels - Addidi -

http://www.timeso....  They

were pleased that we had other resources on which to rely for living

expenses rather than having to depend on our fledgling business for

salaries.  Other potential benefits of keeping your day job whilst exploring

the opportunities for your start-up:
- A wealth of business contacts that you can use for networking, formulating

and promoting your idea;

- A solid commercial acumen gained from being part of a real business helps

you to identify what works well;

- Opportunities for cross-selling:  for example, I have been able to offer

meetings with my firm's venture capital department to potential partners of

Mesh, which has enabled me to ask for favours in return;

- Availability of resources - my firm has allowed me to use their meeting

rooms and has drafted my shareholders' agreement for free.
For a long time, we were very worried about answering the question of 'how

can you possibly be committed to Mesh whilst maintaining your day jobs?'.  I

believe that in this era of portfolio careers, investors are more willing to

accept that the entrepreneurs in front of them are likely to have more than

simply one string to their bow.  If you can make your day job relevant to

your start-up (as ours are with Mesh), then all the better.  The final

hurdle is to demonstrate how hard you are prepared to work (mornings,

lunchtimes, evenings, weekends, every spare hour that God sends!) on your

start-up to achieve the balance that will allow you to juggle your

multi-faceted life!
As for NDAs etc., totally agree with Gavin.  In fact, we found that it was

much better to be open and honest about our idea - a lot of the time,

someone somewhere will have thought about elements of your idea before.  By

conversing with a wide range of people in the relevant industry you're

targetting, you'll be able to shape and focus your idea better than if you

attempt to operate in a secretive vacuum.  Our idea for Mesh has transformed

a lot from day one to now thanks to excellent feedback from the tech

start-up sphere and we are very grateful for that indeed.  Along the way,

you may even find partners willing to help you develop your idea, or even,

investors.  You won't be able to do that if you're desperately keeping

everything on the 'down-low'.
Hope that helps! (and, look forward to hearing about your idea some time,

should you care to share...)  ;o)
K
--

Kay Vasey :: Director

-------------------------------

Mesh - The Cultural Marketplace

Connect :: Invest :: Experience
T :: 020 8983 6604 / M :: 07792 147193
[address removed]

http://www.meshmi...

http://www.meshmi...
Company No. 5898203

VAT Reg. No. 891 1086 20

Registered address: 205 Leamore Court, 1 Meath Crescent, London E2 0QA
2008/12/26 Gavin Chait <[address removed]>
Taufiq,
2 answers:
1. NDAs are a waste of time.  Firstly, financiers won't sign 'em because

that would severely limit their business, because of reason two, which is

that no idea is original.  Either other people can figure it out as well, or

it has been done (in some way or other) before.  Patents are actually a way

of blocking others from using a solution that is relatively original so that

you can enjoy a competitive advantage.  So, you can't "protect" your idea

without going through an expensive patent process which is only as good as

your ability to pay to defend it.  What you need to demonstrate is an

application of your idea which then allows you to discuss that application,

rather than the IP you've developed.  If you have an idea with no

applications that are commercially advantageous, then you probably need to

give your idea more thought.
2. Especially in today's economic environment, if an investor can't see the

prudence in you supporting your business through an alternative income

stream while you develop your initial idea, then they're probably not very

good investors.  Their concern may be that having that alternative income

will put constraints on your time that render the final implementation of

your plan a somewhat stretch target.  Best thing you can do is present them

with a timeline (GANT chart) and show that you have measurable objectives

and that you can meet them realistically.
Hope this helps,
G
-----Original Message-----

From: [address removed] [mailto:[address removed]] On

Behalf Of taufiq

Sent: 25 December 2008 23:35

To: [address removed]

Subject: [entrepreneur-1056] Advice needed for start-up
Hi Everyone,
First of all, to those who celebrate Xmas, I would like to wish you

Happy Xmas!
I wonder whether there's anyone who has experience in starting up

their own business would share with me some of their experience and

advice.
I have 2 questions:
1. How do I protect my business ideas in the early stages when I am

meeting people in groups and discussing about building the business,

if at the moment all I have is an idea, but not much money to

implement it yet?
2. How do I convince an investor that I can't give up my day job

eventhough I am fully committed to developing my own business? Are

there any investors out there that dont take that fact as a negative,

or most will see that as a person who is not committed to the business

and not worth investing in?
Thank you for your advice!
Taufiq
--

Please Note: If you hit "REPLY", your message will be sent to everyone on

this mailing list ([address removed])

http://www.meetup...

This message was sent by taufiq ([address removed]) from London OpenCoffee

Meetup.

To learn more about taufiq, visit his/her member profile:

http://www.meetup...

To unsubscribe or to update your mailing list settings, click here:

http://www.meetup...

Meetup Support: [address removed]

632 Broadway, New York, NY 10012 USA
__________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature

database 3717 (20081225) __________
The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.
http://www.eset.c...
__________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature

database 3718 (20081226) __________
The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.
http://www.eset.c...
--

Please Note: If you hit "REPLY", your message will be sent to everyone on

this mailing list ([address removed])

http://www.meetup...
This message was sent by Gavin Chait ([address removed]) from London

OpenCoffee Meetup.

To learn more about Gavin Chait, visit his/her member profile:

http://www.meetup...
To unsubscribe or to update your mailing list settings, click here:

http://www.meetup...

Meetup Support: [address removed]

632 Broadway, New York, NY 10012 USA
--

Kay Vasey :: Director

-------------------------------

Mesh - The Cultural Marketplace

Connect :: Invest :: Experience
T :: 020 8983 6604 / M :: 07792 147193
[address removed]

http://www.meshmi...

http://www.meshmi...
Company No. 5898203

VAT Reg. No. 891 1086 20

Registered address: 205 Leamore Court, 1 Meath Crescent, London E2 0QA
--

Please Note: If you hit "REPLY", your message will be sent to everyone on

this mailing list ([address removed])

This message was sent by Kay Vasey ([address removed]) from London

OpenCoffee Meetup.

To learn more about Kay Vasey, visit his/her member profile

To unsubscribe or to update your mailing list settings, click here
Meetup Support: [address removed]

632 Broadway, New York, NY 10012 USA