I have a UNIQUE and an inovative idea and i am looking for investors so i can make my idea reality. (the idea has to do with a mobile application) The problem is that i dont have any idea where to search for... I would like to find google's people to help me but i dont know how to contact them. I live in Greece and here there isnt a google's phone number or email. Any Idea???
Thanks for the answer my friend but i searched that section and i didnt found any information about how to contact google or some big investors.
Unless you are a proven entrepreneur (i.e., you have successfully founded a company and then sold it for a lot of money or went public) forget about landing "big" investors. It simply won't happen and you will waste a lot of time and energy chasing after this. The vast majority of start-up entrepreneurs use FF funding (Family & Friends.) Or, if they have considerable business expertise and credibility they may be able to get Angel funding (small professional investors). You don't indicate how much money the idea will need to be turned into a business (do you have a business plan or just an idea?) so it is hard to suggest what your next steps should be. However, telling your idea to any technology company (from Google down to Joe's Programming Shop) could be risky, so be careful that they do not steal your idea.
I have a detailed business plan an the whole project will cost about $3.000 - $10.000. But What i am afraid of is that if i hire a programmer to make my application i will risk the posibbility to steal my idea, and believe me is a brilliant idea and it will change the world !!! I am so excited and very disappointed at the same time $$@%$%@$%@###
Okay, now I have a better understanding of where things stand. You are correct in being afraid that a hired programmer might steal your idea. One option might be to find a programmer that you like and believe that you can work with and make him a partner in the company. A small percentage ownership in the company (10%?) might be enough to keep him/her loyal and working hard on the project.
When you choose to hire a programmer you can have them sign "disclosure", so if he/she does steal your idea you can sue them for damages to your idea.
NDA's and other forms of legal IP (Intellectual Property) protection only go so far (as far as you can pay an attorney to take the case, mostly) and in some countries are utterly useless. Even big companies like IBM with massive legal staff have difficulty protecting their IP around the world
You people don't get it. I swear some of you are as stupid as they come. Ideas are a dime a dozen. Everyone has 100 million dollar ideas. An idea without implementation is like a bird without wings. Useless. An investor isn't going to give Joe Nobody a single dollar unless they can 1. see what they are investing in and 2. clearly see a proven return on their investment. Banks lend money to make money. Investors are no different. They don't give you money because you seem like a "cool kid with a cool idea". Want to invent something? Invent it. Want someone to lend you money? Use your money first. Want someone to risk THEIR capital on YOU? Risk YOURS first. Have a brilliant idea that's worth someone spending $500k on? Sell your house and use your ENTIRE life savings to show the importance of YOUR venture. I laugh hysterically at people who won't spend $10 of their own money and 10 minutes of their time on a "million dollar" idea yet expect people to roll over and just give them money. If you don't already have the virtual or physical idea built and already making money an investor isn't going to be interested. You are a waste of his/her time.
They aren't interested in you. You are a nobody. What do you think Google holds open auditions for people to pitch meaningless ideas and then they turn around and just give you money? You would need some pretty damn big credentials for that to ever happen. You haven't even spent a dollar of your money or a minute of your time on creating your idea and you want to reach out to "googles people". What an imagination.
I had an awesome idea once. It was a text based engine that gave members of the public the ability to enter any string of text in to a blank box and then the engine would instantly trawl through billions of websites to find this text and reveal the result to you. Unfortunately Google stole the idea from me.. I sometimes wish I never went to Googles people with my idea in the first place! Doh! Seriously though, like the others said - if you want people to take you seriously then put your own hard earned money into it. Even if you can build a concept or mock of the app to give people the opportunity to see what exactly it is.
I agree with NetStar that you need the proper market research, a well written business plan with financial projections and a working prototype of your product. What I don't agree with is that you need to invest your own money first. Having started my own business based on an idea all you need is like minded individuals within your immediate community. With successful networking and a lot of passion for what you are doing someone will put up some capital. Start within your community before you reach out to companies like google.
If you truly believe your idea can generate "millions" why wouldn't you invest YOUR OWN MONEY first???????? It's only logical to... Two of the only things in life that holds your committed to a project aside from Passion is Money and Time. If you have 0 dollars invested no can feel safe trusting you with their money. If it fails it's a loss for them...not for you. It's like an auto loan to someone with no credit. The purpose of the down payment is to commit you to the loan. If you default on the loan not only do you lose the vehicle you just wasted your down payment. Someone who puts down $4,000 on a vehicle is less likely to default than someone who has no money tied up.
If you have a Cell Phone, Computer and pay monthly for Internet Access you can afford a $5 Domain and $5 a month for Web Hosting. Those are luxuries not necessities. If you can't afford to invest $10 in to your million dollar idea than you can't be trusted to efficiently manage an investors money. It's not a donation. It's also good to note an investor doesn't just give you money. He buys in to your business for exchange of equity. The amount of money he invests depends on the evaluation of your business. If you don't an existing product to show you obviously net $0. The evaluation is $0. You lose all leverage, influence, and power when it comes to the negotiation of the equity you are selling. Everyone here is living in a dream world. If you go to an investor looking for $25k for your 10 million dollar idea and he/she agrees but under 2 conditions 1. he/she takes 95% of your business and 2. he/she becomes the proprietor of the money (ie. he holds on to the $25k) would you take the deal? If not then you just turned down $500k and you must not be too confident about your expectations of the business. Ideas can't be protected under the law. If you need an investment you need to use your own money first and create your product. If it's just a web site and the expensive part of development is programming you should start reading a book and learn how to program because no one is going to pay you to become rich.
People are given money everyday by investors. Of course they are going to want equity in your business plus 12-15 points on their invested capital. All I'm saying is you can find investors with minimum amount of your own money. An a good investor will do his/her due diligence and look into every aspect of your business.
If you aren't generating money or even have a product OF your business you don't have a business for any investor to look in to. I'll say it again. YOU NEED A BUSINESS before an investor can invest IN YOUR BUSINESS. You can't walk up to anyone with an idea and expect them to write you a check. It doesn't work that way. It never worked that way. I'm becoming very repetitive. If you expect a million dollar return from your "amazing business idea" you should have absolutely no problem investing your own money and time first. It's absurd to seek out investors if you aren't even willing to invest your own money and time. And if you don't have a dollar to your name you are NOT the right person to cut a check to. No product + No revenue = $0 evaluation. $1 investment on a business with $0 evaluation doesn't even make sense. It's like a random guy on the street walking up to you with a plan to open a bank. He has no money or experience in Banking. He hasn't even secured a location, obtained any license, or even spent 30 seconds of his own time opening the business. However, he says if you open up a savings account and deposit $1,000 you will see a 40% return. If you haven't laughed hysterically and walked away from him at this point then you probably are the same person who is trying to seek "Googles People" for them to invest in your trillion dollar idea.. *rolls eyes*