Web dev advice....

oldat31

Hi all.

I'm a Graphic designer / web designer, I know enough to create a static site and I also use allot of CMS systems...

But, I have an idea for a web app I want to develop and know I cant do it alone so I need to get in touch with someone who can, but I'm worried.

I am afraid if I approach a freelancer of a company and show them the whole Idea they will go create it themselves, the Idea I have might not be that good and may end up being a flop but its something I want to do and have full control of....

So heres my question, how do I stop someone taking the brief for the project and just creating it themselves? Every time I get in contact with a developer they say " you will have to give us as much detail as you can " and thats what Im afraid of.

Any help atoll would be great.

Pat.

johnsmith13

Hi

Get them to sign a confidentiality agreement and if they use anything in your spec to either create a rival project you will be able to sue them

bigbadcon

"Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If it's original, you'll have to ram it down their throats."
- Howard Aiken, creator of the IBM/Harvard Mark 1 Computer

conor.hogan.2

I very much doubt your idea is worth stealing (no offence)

adm

Have you been watching the social network

oldat31

@ conor.hogan.2 and adm. Why did you even post?. Are you trying to get your post count up.....?

Rulmeq

oldat31 wrote: »

@ conor.hogan.2 and adm. Why did you even post?. Are you trying to get your post count up.....?

Ideas are worthless without proper execution. They just left that bit out.

http://www.oreillynet.com/onlamp/blog/2005/08/ideas_are_just_a_multiplier_of.html

tricky D

oldat31 wrote: »

@ conor.hogan.2 and adm. Why did you even post?. Are you trying to get your post count up.....?

Because for starters most ideas are not original. As Rulmeq says, the trick is executing them well.

I once had a boss who was a bit of a media darling for a short while. The press used to love stuff like his little notebook with a hundred new ideas. Nice bit of PR but not one single idea of his was original. The business he ran was totally unoriginal but was moderately successful because it was well run until the dotcom crash kinda killed it.

adm

oldat31 wrote: »

@ conor.hogan.2 and adm. Why did you even post?. Are you trying to get your post count up.....?

Well 'The social network' comment was just a, umm, joke y'know.
The reason facebook has been such a success (imho) is not because the idea was remotely original but because they did it better than everyone else.

professore

Someone stealing your idea is highly unlikely in this context. Even if it sees the value in it unless the company develops its own products it will no doubt be far too busy trying to hit customer deadlines and getting paid to bother stealing it. Get a non compete contract signed though just in case. If they won't sign it run away.

The big hurdle for your app is getting people to buy it.

Trojan

tricky D wrote: »

Because for starters most ideas are not original. As Rulmeq says, the trick is executing them well.

I once had a boss who was a bit of a media darling for a short while. The press used to love stuff like his little notebook with a hundred new ideas. Nice bit of PR but not one single idea of his was original. The business he ran was totally unoriginal but was moderately successful because it was well run until the dotcom crash kinda killed it.

Class - it was probably moderately successful because he was good at PR too

conor.hogan.2

Ye, as others have stated - your idea is likely not that amazing, im not trying to be harsh or whatever just trying to point out if you want help you will get more if you actual disclose what you want to make.

Google was not the first search engine, facebook not the first social network, reddit not the first….

claudiu_ceia

If you have one good idea, the second will come. Meanwhile sign a non-disclosure agreement and make sure you can afford to pay and dedicate your time to get it right, it's not the idea that's so valuable but implementing it right.

cgarvey

oldat31 wrote: »

how do I stop someone taking the brief for the project and just creating it themselves?

Have them sign an NDA. Whether you use a generic one, or an Irish solicitor-vetted one, depends on the value you have on your idea. If you genuinely believe in your idea, a few quid up front to a decent Irish solicitor (with experience in this area) would be worth it.

If it's for a web app, and you want it to be popular, then you won't get a reliable scalable (1,000s of supported users) for a few hundred quid, or even a few thousand. If you just want proof of concept / non-scalable / prototype to get started, then complexity and design will determine cost from a few hundred to a few thousand.

It's hard work to get a web app to any sort of critical mass, so don't think it's a case of building your idea and they will come!