Inventions and Business Ideas

cormie

Hi,
I have a few ideas in my head of various inventions and business ideas. What can I do with these? I don't have the knowledge/investment money/time to go about doing anything with them. They have potential so is there any pointers I should take?
Thanks:)

John2002

You should talk to a venture capital firm, or maybe an accountant even before doing this. They can provide financial backing if they feel your idea is a worthwhile investment.

cormie

Does it cost money to talk to them? And what would happen if they said "nope, crap, get out" and thne I see my invention on the market a few months later and I see the guy driving buy in a nice lotus?

John2002

I doubt it costs money just to talk to them since they make their money from the money they invest in you. I'm not certain though but I will ask my da when he gets back from holidays - he has worked at this from both perspectives i.e. the entrpreneur looking for money, and also when he sold his business he worked for a venture capital firm.

With regard to preventing somebody stealing your invention you would need to register a patent on it. This will probably involve working with an engineer to come up with a comprehensive design for your idea. Have a look at the Irish Patents Office website, there should be lots of info there on what would be required of you.

cormie

Cool thanks, if you could ask your dad that would be nice.

Would I have to get an international Patent for my invention though? It's not so much an invention, but an improvement.

ArthurDent

If you have an idea that you think might be patentable (novel, useful and non-obvious) you need to ensure that there is no disclosure before patenting it. This means if you wish to discuss your idea with someone you must get them to sign a confidentiality agreement and it would be better if you had filled out an invention diclosure form beforehand.
Patenting is a hugely expensive and technically specialised area - you really would need to get advise from a patent attorney.

If you really think you might have somethign, you can apply to Enterprise Ireland - they have a fund that can help with the initial stages of patenting - up to about €19K, but to get this money you must be able to prove that you are going to work on patenting the idea and turning it into a business.

cormie

That seems like allot of effort! Can I not just sell my ideas

Another thing, I have a great idea for a tv show, now where would I go with that?

gre_soul

Some entrepreneurial articles on this site HERE for you to have a gander. research your ideas well and talk to people with the related experience. join local junior chamber of commerce can help to develop your ideas into a venture. Best of luck with whatever you are planning to do

John2002

Cormie,

Spoke to my da re venture capital firms. He says they only really deal in projects with €500k+ financing requirements so I'm guessing that's a bit out of your league for the time being. He also said access to them is very difficult.

He did however recommend speaking to your County Enterprise Board or somebody like Shannon Development in your area. These guys provide grants etc. to help you get your venture off the ground.

Best of luck with your ideas!

John.

ambro25

Talk to Enterprise Ireland. They're sharp, supportive and full of finance and won't BS you around (so long as you don't BS 'em around yourself). They're also very good at hand-holding newbies where IP protection is concerned and have very good ties with Patent Agent firms in Dublin.

If you can't afford to patent now (so long as your ideas/inventions are patentable of course, which is not a given) always use an NDA.

Get some proof of concept done. If you need to hire some freelancer(s), make sure they sign some form of contract AND MAKE SURE that contract includes a clause assigning whathever rights arises out of the contract (which would be theirs) to you.

soma

Cormie - Im afraid you may not be living in the real world there mate.

Never ever think (or be sold the impression) that venture capital companies are basically walking banks who basically throw money at ideas.

Here's an example I'll give you that'd Id be familar with cos it's my area, software.

Lets say you have your great idea for a cool new software application. To get funding in modern ireland from VCs you will have to do the following;

1) not only will you have to build an implementation of your idea but the crucial thing that modern investors want to see.. (as this is a huge catch 22 for budding entrepreneurs..) is...

2) get paying customers for it. This is the catch 22 Im talking about. Alot of us think, if I had this idea implemented the customers would be all over me.. the VC response..? "prove it".

Also lads pretty much the same thing applies to enteprise ireland. They want to see ideas that bring in customers. I was working for a startup last year and it wasnt until they had a major multinational as a paying customer that they actually got money out of enterprise ireland. Again dont think that E.I. are some kind of walking bank either. If you get money from E.I. it will most often be of the type of "ok.. you invest 50k of your personal money into the business.. and we'll match 50k against the cost of hiring staff".

Lots of us have great ideas but we do have to have a healthy dose of reality.
e.g. I have a great idea for certain industry in ireland, i have seen it work elsewhere in the world and would be extremely confident of it working here. but I know the startup costs would be 1-2 million euro so I know that idea is (currently) worthless to me.

As for patents - I think the average cost of a patent in the EU is something horrible like 40k. Also you mention your idea is an 'improvement', man that is often the hardest kind of patent to get. (and you had better check that what you are 'improving' isnt patented )

What I'd say is that if you are an ideas guy, keep thinking and come up with smaller ideas that if successful, will maybe give you the reputation and clout to get someone to invest (or go into business with you) in your larger more ambitious ideas. Thats what im personally doing at the moment, trying to get something small scale going on the side with a view to long term ideas & ventures.