Business Idea ... Thoughts

[IamNRE]

So, a lot of people want to start businesses, but they don't have the skills, resources or right idea.

Some just have skills.

Others just have money.

And others just have ideas.

I want to create a membership site where those 3 groups of people can network with each other and setup businesses together.

Imagine if 100 like minded people got together and put their skills, resources and ideas together to create a business instead of having to start a business for $1000 with so so skills, and a so-so idea.

You instead have $100k to start a business, you use some of the money to hire experts to do market research and help you develop a great business model - then you develop your MVP, prove the concept and then scale it up.

Sure you'll only own 1% of the company.... but 1% of a company making $1 million per month is still $10k/month.... a decent income for most people.


What do you guys think about that idea, should I invest and try to build such a platform or no.

What is need to make this idea work, any input would be appreciated. Thank you kindly.

 

[akaseo]

there is big problem with statistics here -

1. People having idea - millions
2. People having skill - thousands
3. People having money - a few hundreds

Also, you really have to make the platform really descriptive so that everyone can choose there right place because it highly possible that people may come to you site which have all of 3 things or any of the two.
Other than that the platform will be really great if you spend good money on advertising it properly.
Another thing is on what script or software are you going to make this platform. If you have time please explain that.

 

[OlafRustle]

You can fake having a skill and so most people would probably be really reluctant to "bet" money on someones skills (or ideas)

 

[WebTG]

it sounds good actually, only problem is it should have huge members to make it a success as its a community.

Such facebook group related to startups already exist.

Even a section on bhw is also dedicated for that.

 

[SeedPhrase]

sounds pretty good but.
when it comes to your stake 1% I don't think anyone will be agreed with that, rather than you can do premium registration to find their like-minded guy.
they all have to be from one region then only they can word together with high passion.
the overall plan is great tho...do some proper research and test the market...and stay flexible too
good luck mate...

 

[Adivertising]

Make it like a marketplace

1. The idea guy pays you $$ monthly fee to be a member (To keep the idea section clean from unserious 13-year-olds). He makes unlimited posts showing in public only general info such as initial investment, market, industry, possible profit. The idea is evaluated by you and you give it a score. It is calculated by Potential / (Initial investment x Market x Time). The reason he pays $$ is that he has both customers for the skills he has and the privilege of having a regulated idea market. The idea post stays active for other skills guys who might choose a different path of implementing it.

2. The skills guy has a profile with verified certificates. He also pays you $$$ monthly fee (He pays more because he gets both the idea access membership and a place to promote himself) to be a member with a limited number of credits, which will buy a limited number of ideas based on their score value. For more ideas, they have to upgrade their membership.

3. The investment guy pays nothing in a monthly fee. After a skills guy approves a project, it is shown in the Investment section, where Investors can invest just like in Kickstarter. They can either agree to make a company together, regulated by law or after the investment, the skills guy receives a yearly invoice that has to be paid within a time frame for X times the value of the investment (X is recommended by you, and idea guy, but agreed on by investor and skills guy). The last option guarantees the investor to be paid by you in any case, and you are guaranteed to be paid because the invoice is legally obligatory. This way you are both a middle man for connecting investor and skills guy with a proven idea and plan (more profit) and a potential debt collector (more profit)

 

[Adivertising]

Make it like a marketplace

1. The idea guy pays you $$ monthly fee to be a member (To keep the idea section clean from unserious 13-year-olds). He makes unlimited posts showing in public only general info such as initial investment, market, industry, possible profit. The idea is evaluated by you and you give it a score. It is calculated by Potential / (Initial investment x Market x Time). The reason he pays $$ is that he has both customers for the skills he has and the privilege of having a regulated idea market. The idea post stays active for other skills guys who might choose a different path of implementing it.

2. The skills guy has a profile with verified certificates. He also pays you $$$ monthly fee (He pays more because he gets both the idea access membership and a place to promote himself) to be a member with a limited number of credits, which will buy a limited number of ideas based on their score value. For more ideas, they have to upgrade their membership.

3. The investment guy pays nothing in a monthly fee. After a skills guy approves a project, it is shown in the Investment section, where Investors can invest just like in Kickstarter. They can either agree to make a company together, regulated by law or after the investment, the skills guy receives a yearly invoice that has to be paid within a time frame for X times the value of the investment (X is recommended by you, and idea guy, but agreed on by investor and skills guy). The last option guarantees the investor to be paid by you in any case, and you are guaranteed to be paid because the invoice is legally obligatory. This way you are both a middle man for connecting investor and skills guy with a proven idea and plan (more profit) and a potential debt collector (more profit)

We have a very efficient marketplace in Sweden for projects Offerta, where people who want something done such as Cleaning, Transport, Construction, Engineering, Accounting, and Web-related services, submit it to the platform, and the businesses that carry these services, pay a monthly fee for 15 credits, which are used when they show interest in a project. The consumer pays nothing, but they usually get 5 offers from 5 different companies, which all pay it with a credit. The membership for the companies costs around 350 euros and they get 5 credits per month.

 

[IamNRE]

there is big problem with statistics here -

1. People having idea - millions
2. People having skill - thousands
3. People having money - a few hundreds

Also, you really have to make the platform really descriptive so that everyone can choose there right place because it highly possible that people may come to you site which have all of 3 things or any of the two.
Other than that the platform will be really great if you spend good money on advertising it properly.
Another thing is on what script or software are you going to make this platform. If you have time please explain that.

You make a good point. Lots of people with lots of ideas. A few people with skills and even fewer with money.

What if there was a monthly fee like $20 and a minimum investment of like $1k that EVERYONE had to fund their account with.

Now EVERYONE has at least $1k to invest with and if you don't have that, then honesty you need to be working a real job.

Now there would be only 2 groups, group 1) Has $1k and idea/skills, Group 2) Has $1k but no skill/idea.

There's way more to a business than just an idea, most people's ideas are not businesses. And most people's skills are not good enough to be turned into a venture - most people are average with average ideas. That's why its important to hire talent IMO.

With regards to platform, I'm not sure - it would probably be something custom. Nice and simple, not too complicated.

You can fake having a skill and so most people would probably be really reluctant to "bet" money on someones skills (or ideas)

You're right. Lots of charlatans out there.

I'm leaning on requiring that nobody uses the skills from the community and instead outsources work to a pre-vetted company/agency from somewhere like ... https://clutch.co/ or https://www.toptal.com/top-3-percent

it sounds good actually, only problem is it should have huge members to make it a success as its a community.

Such facebook group related to startups already exist.

Even a section on bhw is also dedicated for that.

I'm okay with it being niche for just a few people at first. Facebook started out as a social network for students at Harvard.... it grew with time.

You're right, there are groups like that, but I want it to be unique in that the people that join there are there with at least $1k to invest.

No tire kickers or people from 3rd world nations - so I'll set a $20 barrier just to be a member. And kick out people that haven't joined an investment group within 3 months or something.

sounds pretty good but.
when it comes to your stake 1% I don't think anyone will be agreed with that, rather than you can do premium registration to find their like-minded guy.
they all have to be from one region then only they can word together with high passion.
the overall plan is great tho...do some proper research and test the market...and stay flexible too
good luck mate...

Hmm, I dunno - what's wrong with owning 1% of a company that makes $1 mil per month ??

Lot's of online stores make that.... but it requires capital to get to that level and most people only have $1-5k (if that) so they can never get there. But if you put together 100 people like that then you stand a chance of getting there... and once you're there, you can even take the company public and trade on the stock exchange - now your 1% could become worth $1 mil. in a couple of years.

Make it like a marketplace

1. The idea guy pays you $$ monthly fee to be a member (To keep the idea section clean from unserious 13-year-olds). He makes unlimited posts showing in public only general info such as initial investment, market, industry, possible profit. The idea is evaluated by you and you give it a score. It is calculated by Potential / (Initial investment x Market x Time). The reason he pays $$ is that he has both customers for the skills he has and the privilege of having a regulated idea market. The idea post stays active for other skills guys who might choose a different path of implementing it.

2. The skills guy has a profile with verified certificates. He also pays you $$$ monthly fee (He pays more because he gets both the idea access membership and a place to promote himself) to be a member with a limited number of credits, which will buy a limited number of ideas based on their score value. For more ideas, they have to upgrade their membership.

3. The investment guy pays nothing in a monthly fee. After a skills guy approves a project, it is shown in the Investment section, where Investors can invest just like in Kickstarter. They can either agree to make a company together, regulated by law or after the investment, the skills guy receives a yearly invoice that has to be paid within a time frame for X times the value of the investment (X is recommended by you, and idea guy, but agreed on by investor and skills guy). The last option guarantees the investor to be paid by you in any case, and you are guaranteed to be paid because the invoice is legally obligatory. This way you are both a middle man for connecting investor and skills guy with a proven idea and plan (more profit) and a potential debt collector (more profit)

Sounds kinda complex, way more complex than I had in mind. Thanks for your thoughts though.

We have a very efficient marketplace in Sweden for projects Offerta, where people who want something done such as Cleaning, Transport, Construction, Engineering, Accounting, and Web-related services, submit it to the platform, and the businesses that carry these services, pay a monthly fee for 15 credits, which are used when they show interest in a project. The consumer pays nothing, but they usually get 5 offers from 5 different companies, which all pay it with a credit. The membership for the companies costs around 350 euros and they get 5 credits per month.

That kinda sounds like upwork.com ... not really the sort of thing I had in mind.

 

[yherrliche]

So basically like linkedin ?

 

[t2van]

Who would own 1% of the company? The business creator or the investor? As no one is going to take a 1% stake unless you decide to run it as a NO fee but you take 1% of the business to connect people. But then you would be quickly out of pocket with all the legal fees.

I think the money side of it as well as the business side legal and becoming an escrow company would be a pain in the ass. You would be far better off running it like Upwork i.e

Sellers & Providers.

So it's a market place for would be business people to pitch ideas and connect with investors and other experts such as but not limited to marketing, creative, legal etc.

The site then runs as a basecamp idea where the business and tools / skills can be shared but it's down to each party either investor, owner or service provider to work out some kind of fee or stake in the business. Everything is done on site for a "safety" or some other BS line but it allows progress and ideas to be shared and thought out between all parties also holds people accountable.

You get the hook of it being on the site its all "safe & secure" you can communicate and reach out etc without it being a cut and run from either side..

A linkedin for start-ups maybe...

Free to register, X to pitch and Y to connect or Z to connect and run projects

 

[IamNRE]

So basically like linkedin ?

Yeah, but focused on Entrepreneurship and focused on forming Joint Ventures / Partnerships to get start-ups off the ground.

So a more niched down version I guess.

 

[Leader777]

The problem is thoes people that have ideas are most likely lazy

 

[yherrliche]

Yeah, but focused on Entrepreneurship and focused on forming Joint Ventures / Partnerships to get start-ups off the ground.

So a more niched down version I guess.

You should try it out yeah. I think It will cost a fortune to market to 3 different group of people, but others have done it before so there's no reason why you cant.
Best of luck.

 

[IamNRE]

Who would own 1% of the company? The business creator or the investor? As no one is going to take a 1% stake unless you decide to run it as a NO fee but you take 1% of the business to connect people. But then you would be quickly out of pocket with all the legal fees.

I think the money side of it as well as the business side legal and becoming an escrow company would be a pain in the ass. You would be far better off running it like Upwork i.e

Sellers & Providers.

So it's a market place for would be business people to pitch ideas and connect with investors and other experts such as but not limited to marketing, creative, legal etc.

The site then runs as a basecamp idea where the business and tools / skills can be shared but it's down to each party either investor, owner or service provider to work out some kind of fee or stake in the business. Everything is done on site for a "safety" or some other BS line but it allows progress and ideas to be shared and thought out between all parties also holds people accountable.

You get the hook of it being on the site its all "safe & secure" you can communicate and reach out etc without it being a cut and run from either side..

A linkedin for start-ups maybe...

Free to register, X to pitch and Y to connect or Z to connect and run projects

The people that invest would be the owners of the company, if you don't invest you don't own it.

Even if you have the skills and idea, you still need to buy your shares just like everyone else.

1% is just an example, you could also have some people form ventures where they all invest $10k each for 10% stake. Whatever the case may be.

Thanks for your thoughts, I think that's more KickStarter / Indogogo type of thing...

I want something where people invest, get ownership and have a say in how the business is operated. i.e ALL the people there are there because they want to start their own businesses, but they understand that starting a business on your own with $1k is no where as good as starting a business with 100 other people (in a co-op style) and having $100k to build an amazing app, great funnel, and having a shit ton of money to buy traffic with.

 

[t2van]

The people that invest would be the owners of the company, if you don't invest you don't own it.

Even if you have the skills and idea, you still need to buy your shares just like everyone else.

1% is just an example, you could also have some people form ventures where they all invest $10k each for 10% stake. Whatever the case may be.

Thanks for your thoughts, I think that's more KickStarter / Indogogo type of thing...

I want something where people invest, get ownership and have a say in how the business is operated. i.e ALL the people there are there because they want to start their own businesses, but they understand that starting a business on your own with $1k is no where as good as starting a business with 100 other people (in a co-op style) and having $100k to build an amazing app, great funnel, and having a shit ton of money to buy traffic with.

Yeah but that's the issue you need to start the business as something else like a kickstarter or an Upwork in order to gain trust and attraction.

Unless you get a big name investment from someone to get the project up off the ground to start with. I'm not going to float 10k into a site that I've never heard of or has some names behind hit. THATs going to be your wall and issue as you will need to compete with:

https://www.angelinvestmentnetwork.co.uk
https://www.crowdcube.com
https://www.fundingcircle.com/uk/investors/
etc

 

[healzer]

There are thousands of similar sites and platforms already:
angel.co
LinkedIn
producthunt.com
betalist.com
reddit

A lot of people use these to find investments/investors, ideas, customers, etc.

By building yet another site, you'll unlikely going to help many people, except yourself by making a profit from their membership so it depends on what you're seeking.

 

[IamNRE]

The problem is thoes people that have ideas are most likely lazy

It doesn't matter - IF everyone that becomes an owner has to invest.

If you have an idea, great - you still have to invest.

If you don't have an idea, that's okay - you still need to invest if you want ownership.

If you have or don't have a skill, you still need to invest as well.

If you will work harder than everyone else, awesome - you still need to invest like everyone else.
You don't want to work, that's okay too - so long as you invest.


Basically you take 100 people each put $1000 to start an online venture = $100k in startup capital.

The 100 people are now all co-owners and limited partners.

They are all essentially directors of the company, they VOTE on who among them going to manage the company and how much he's going to get paid, if they can't find someone within the group to do the job, then can hire a project manager for around $4k/month and that person can manage the business. While the owners focus on strategy - the project manager is basically the CEO of the company taking orders from the owners, and executing their instructions through 3rd party agencies and freelancers.

 

[IamNRE]

There are thousands of similar sites and platforms already:
angel.co
LinkedIn
producthunt.com
betalist.com
reddit

A lot of people use these to find investments/investors, ideas, customers, etc.

I don't I've conveyed the value proposition well enough, thanks for your thoughts.

 

[Leader777]

It doesn't matter - IF everyone that becomes an owner has to invest.

If you have an idea, great - you still have to invest.

If you don't have an idea, that's okay - you still need to invest if you want ownership.

If you have or don't have a skill, you still need to invest as well.

If you will work harder than everyone else, awesome - you still need to invest like everyone else.
You don't want to work, that's okay too - so long as you invest.


Basically you take 100 people each put $1000 to start an online venture = $100k in startup capital.

The 100 people are now all co-owners and limited partners.

They are all essentially directors of the company, they VOTE on who among them going to manage the company and how much he's going to get paid, if they can't find someone within the group to do the job, then can hire a project manager for around $4k/month and that person can manage the business. While the owners focus on strategy - the project manager is basically the CEO of the company taking orders from the owners, and executing their instructions through 3rd party agencies and freelancers.

I think you should go for something like crowdfunding but even then you still need to spend some money to advertise so people invest

 

[HustleTong]

The problem is thoes people that have ideas are most likely lazy

That's what bill gates says.