Is it possible to sell an idea for software without actually developing it?

Question

I have my moments of inspiration like many others -- most of them bad, with a few diamonds in the rough. Is it possible to monetize those diamonds with stakeholders or entrepreneurs without actually being the person to handle development and technical? Any avenues that you can recommend would be appreciated.

Answer 1

It's possible, but consider this: how much value is there really in an undeveloped idea? You're not the only one out there with great ideas you can't implement.

Having said that, if you really think it's new and original, you might as well use the broken system to your advantage and look into patenting it.

Answer 2

Depends on the nature of the idea, but if all you have is an idea, but no work, you're unlikely to find a buyer who will pay you a decent amount.

Answer 3

Start a business, get a business loan to fund your business early on. Pay people to work for you developing said idea. Once you have early prototypes then you can start looking for outside funding and try to make returns on your initial investments.

Answer 4

There's a lot more to a new product than just an idea and software development. Frankly, these are two of the easiest parts. Marketing your product and getting people to actually buy it - that's the hard part!

Answer 5

In general I would say no. Investors will at least want to see a prototype.

If your idea is amenable and you are willing to do some work, you may be able to take your idea and sell it as a consulting engagement to a company. You can structure the agreement to keep the rights to your software. I've worked on a project like this before.

Of course, you could always build a time machine and travel back to 1995 where you could sell ideas without having anything built.

Answer 6

Get yourself a sales guy that has no problem selling "vapourware".

Then when he's sold a version of it, code like mad to get it done.

Unethical, maybe, but if you can pull it off, it'll get a startup up and running nice and quickly.

Answer 7

First : You should discuss your idea with people you know who are good in that technical domain. They will tell you if 1. The product is worthy 2. There is nothing like it in the market already.

You could then try venture capitalists with your market analysis. There you might have to justify as in why you don't want to develop the product but want the money up front.

There are people who would buy the idea but the chances are slim if there is no prototype at least.

Answer 8

It is possible to sell an undeveloped idea but probably almost impossible to protect it. Consider this, no matter what you do competitors are watching for quick solutions.

The only real means of protecting a niche in a market is to be the best at it, to gaurentee that a replication of your product will be a waste of money, because it will pale in comparison, due to your head start in developing the product.

In short if you can't be the best at your idea, it will be replicated and you'll be outcompeted.

Therefore,

If, and only if, you're convincing (or crazy) enough to find someone who can competitively produce your idea will you be able to monetize the idea.

Answer 9

Ideas are a dime a dozen.

Getting them out the door is where the real work is.

Answer 10

No.

Everyone has ideas. They are a dime a dozen. Less than a dime a dozen.

Ideas without implementation are wothless. You can neither get, nor deserve, any money without anybody doing any work.

Answer 11

You said that you have potentially money-making ideas, in moments of inspiration, and that most of them are bad. I suspect most of us are like that.

How do you tell which ideas are bad and which are good? It's usually impossible to do so without trying them out. If you're willing to go out and work on one, you're at least showing that you have confidence in that one. If you aren't willing to, why am I to have confidence in your idea? Give me some reason to believe somebody (perhaps you) thinks it a good idea. (Alternatively, you could try patenting it, which last I heard cost about ten thousand dollars or more in the US, but that could also turn me against the idea.)

How do you handle a situation where I might have had the same idea, and for whatever reason didn't pursue it? I'm not interested in giving you money if I implement an idea I came up with independently. If you tell me the idea, I can always (honestly or otherwise) claim I had it also. I'm not interested in signing anything that restricts my actions in the future (like the ability to profit off an enterprise without cutting you in) unless I get something for it. I'm also not interested in putting myself in the crosshairs of a lawsuit if I start a business and you think it was from your idea. I have no business reason to listen to your idea unless I already have some confidence it will be profitable to me, and for that see the paragraph above.

Ideas come to everybody. I have ideas. You have ideas. Why should I pick an idea that gives you a cut of the profits, when I can pick an idea I had myself? Sure, I probably overestimate the value of my own ideas, but you probably do also.

You see people making lots of money for no particularly good reason, an author cleaning up on a book that's not all that good, a financial analyst getting millions while bankrupting his company, that sort of thing. What you don't see is that those people put in a lot of time and work to get into that position, where they could profit unfairly. If you're willing to put in that effort, maybe you can get an undeserved profit too.

So, if you have an idea that could be worth millions, get a start on it. Don't try to profit from it without something to show, preferably something that shows off advantages without giving away the whole idea. That shows that one person, at least, has some confidence in the idea. It puts you out in front, if only slightly, and demonstrates that you're probably the logical person to keep going with the idea. It allows you to discuss possible ways to exploit it without giving away the whole thing. It allows me to save face; rather than admit that you have better ideas than mine, it allows me to finance you on the basis of something tangible. (Never expect somebody to pay you just for being smarter than they are. If you are, they won't want to admit it. If not, well, why should they pay you?)

Answer 12

Genius is 99 percent perspiration and 1 percent inspiration. -- Thomas Edison

Answer 13

If you don't have the time to develop your idea, you might have to be satisfied with giving it to others and watch it flourish. Or else, found a company, hire a CTO and CEO, and offload the implementation work. You might then have to be satisfied with only a small fraction of the company.

Professors give away their ideas to "student entrepreneurs" all the time, trying to get them to actively perform implementation work. The professors would co-found and then provide consultation to the company.

Answer 14

How do you know it's a good idea? Evaluate your idea, assess the market it will play in, identify experts or talent that could implement the idea, create a rough marketing plan or launch plan, make some blue sky revenue guesses, and figure out the next smallest possible step towards realizing the idea (that is, plant your first milestone).

Now bounce all this around friends, and business people asking for evaluation. Take it to your local Small Business Developer Center and see if they have advisors that you can meet (most have some type of network of retired executives).

If (and it's a big if) you have the capability to implement the idea than yes, you might get angel round funding, a business loan or a team of excited volunteers willing to sweat for equity. That first milestone is key for some investors - "Fund me to this point and then we'll sit down and look at what we've got and re-evaluate and hopefully decide to continue funding."

Ideas are cheap. Implementation takes money, time and especially effort. And it's effort that is valuable.

If you just want to jot down your ideas and sell them, just write a book of ideas.

Answer 15

I run a small software shop and over the last 20 years I've had dozens of people approach me with ideas. Most were users who were thrilled to simply see their ideas brought to fruition. Some were convinced, as you appear to be, that they had the "next big thing" and just needed a programmer to make it work. One guy actually sent me a "non-disclosure" agreement that would have, in essence, given him ownership of everything I developed in our field forever after signing the NDA. His "logic" was that his idea was so wonderful that anything I ever thought of after hearing it would be colored by his brilliance! Obviously, I threw it away and he faded into obscurity.

My take is that ideas are free, period. If you don't have the wherewithal or initiative to turn your idea into a real product, or even just a prototype, then you simply have no claim that anyone else need honor. My apologies if this sounds harsh but I've simply been at this too long to buy into the proposition that the people who do the actual work should owe anything to people who just free-associate.

If you do put in the effort to make the idea real, then you are owed the full protections of the copyright and patent laws to the extent that they apply.

Answer 16

Yes it's possible but also you should consider this:

From Getting Real

• Awful idea = -1
• Weak idea = 1
• So-so idea = 5
• Good idea = 10
• Great idea = 15

• Brilliant idea = 20

• No execution = $1

• Weak execution = $1000
• So-so execution = $10,000
• Good execution = $100,000
• Great execution = $1,000,000
• Brilliant execution = $10,000,000

To make a business, you need to multiply the two.

The most brilliant idea, with no execution, is worth $20. The most brilliant idea takes great execution to be worth $20,000,000.

That's why I don't want to hear people's ideas. I'm not interested until I see their execution.

However I think it's possible make a draft and show it off to seal a deal.

Answer 17

Yes, it is possible to sell idea/s. But before that just google it if your idea is already implemented or already stolen by someone else. Its a huge world with common thoughts. Every time google disappoints me by showing number of results of my (so called unique) ideas. But keep trying, you may be Genius.

Answer 18

you're going to get really biased answers in a swegr community.

Answer 19

I would probably buy your idea if it would be so great.
For me the lack of idea is the issue, I would stand up for its execution (after its evaluation of course).

Not sealing a deal here, but startups would not be able to pay for the idea, instead they would be able to make you co-founder, stakeholder or similar when they will start implementing your idea.