Business Opportunities Weblog

Reader Mailbag: Sell My Idea?

By on November 18, 2012 in Ask the Readers

A reader asked:

Where can I sell my business idea?

You can’t. Ideas by and of themselves are worthless. It’s the execution of the idea that has value.

Do something, anything, with your idea and then we’ll talk.

Business Opportunities Weblog editor and publisher Dane Carlson lives in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, just 15 miles from Yosemite National Park. He accidentally became a professional blogger in 2001. He has added 12,203 posts to the site.

Another Idea: How to Start a Franchise Idea Center Business

  • Michael

    To estimate the value of your idea, I need to know your idea… And why should I pay for something I already know?

    That’s the problem! But you could pay me for starting your business, when time is your problem?

  • George Bear

    Dane, ideas are sold all the time. A good pitch and an NDA. If large established companies opened their minds to ideas, they’d do a lot better. And a sensible lawyer can avoid any potential conflict.

    As for Michael’s comment, regardless of whether an NDA is signed, if I tell a company how they can lift profit 10X – well, commonsense says you pay the person disclosing the idea. Why would you want them telling your rivals.

    MBA courses have yet to introduce commonsense into the curriculum. Most companies still don’t invite outside “ideas”. That will change.

  • http://www.prosklitirio-eshop.gr Prosklitiria

    Not all people are entrepreneurs. Maybe someone has an idea but aren’t the right person to make this idea a business.
    My opinion is that if you can’t make money from your idea it is better to find some one to sell it even if at the end of the day earn less money.

  • Sarn

    I have a well written invention and a model with the drawings. The problem for me is the money that take it to be patented. If anyone knows of such places that handles it for you with the money, then please let me know…

  • Michael

    In Germany we have got a subsidy for patents… But I’m sure this program is just for germans.
    Juhu, the first point, which is more Entrepreneur-friendly than in the US.
    Are you sure there is nothing like that in the US?

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