June 11, 2008
Posted by Mrflax
For example, you come up with a new "cocacola" formula but you don't have the capital to get started. What if you present a business plan to investors and they decide to invest on that idea on there own ; cutting you off!
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June 11, 2008
Posted by stevelup
( 3 ratings )
There is no foolproof way to prevent your idea from being stolen, but you can take some steps to protect yourself.
First you should never disclose the trade secrets to a potential investor without having them sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). Trouble is that many investors refuse to do this as a matter of course and also, the NDA is only as valuable as your interest in spending attorney fees to enforce it. If you google "NDA" you will find some form templates.
The second protection is to strictly limit the people you talk to about your idea to a small group of people who are referred by your advisers (attorney, banker or accountant) or other entrepreneurs who have experience with the potential investor. Depending on your area of the country, there are established "Angel Investor" groups or business incubators that are helpful at the very earliest stages of a company's development. One national directory of angel groups can be found here http://www.angelcapitaleducation.org/dir_resources/directory.aspx
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June 12, 2008
Posted by wNelson
( 0 ratings )
Only talk to people you can trust with a reputation. You'll have little to any luck getting investors to sign an NDA, they simply won't do it. NDA's put investors at risk from investing in a similar venture down the road.
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