Anyone own their own business?

[jerseydevil]

I was wondering if anyone owns their own business. Knows how to do a business plan, get marketing data, etc. Does anyone know how to copyright or patent intellectual property like a web application that isn't written yet? Does anyone know anything about Venture Capital?

[Nurvingiel]

All the people I know who own their own businesses are consultants. (Do not think Dilbert here.)

I've heard of Venture Capital, but I have no idea what it is. Not exactly helpful eh?

By the was JD, clean our your pm box! Empty the Inbox and the Sent Messages folder. (It can get out of hand.)

[The Gaffer]

I jointly founded my company with two others two years ago. We looked at taking investment but decided against it because 1) we didn't know exactly where we wanted to go at that time and 2) we didn't want to hand over control of the business to someone else.

VCs usually insist on equity and board representation. The main issue for them is how they're going to get their money back, in spades, in the not too distant future. Many associates of mine have ended up doing stuff they don't want to in order to maximise returns (which, to my mind, defeats the purpose of having your own business).

Alternatives to VCs would be "Business Angels" (don't know what they're called in the US), who are people with moderate amounts to invest who also want to take an active role. They are particularly useful if you need, say, a chair or director with business and finance experience.

There are also fund-based investment bodies which do "blind" investments based on risk profiles. So, for example, they may have a few millions set aside for "high risk" ventures and they don't really care what area it is as long as there's a clear definition of that risk.

A third alternative is partnering with an existing company.

For all of these, the punters with the loot will want to see a quite specific risk assessment attached to your proposal, a clear exit strategy (showing how their money will grow) and have confidence in the people involved. The best bet is to find a trusted intermediary who can mediate those conversations.

As for IP, we reckoned it would cost about £10-20k to file for patent protection of web technologies in Europe. As far as I understand it, you can't patent an application you haven't written yet. Also, patents have to demonstrate technical originality, so it may be a complicated process. Most software is regarded as a "written work" and comes under copyright protection rather than patent.