Got an idea for a web business.

Long story short:
1. Its very similar to other sites that are well established
2. However, would be different/better in many ways
3. Don't have the time or skills (yet) to get this going myself, not to mention I don't know what I don't know.
4. Reached out to SpringboradNC (in Rocky Mount), heard nothing back
5. Reached out to NC State Entrepreneurship clinic (heard back, months ago, said they were 'busy')
6. Graduated NC State, ME, took full year of Engineering Entrepreneurship classes for senior year, know how that works.
7. Have idea, name, how to make it work, how to monetize, and who the target audience is, but no one to listen, but I am cautious as to not give TOO much away.

So, where else to look/who to talk to? Just to pitch the idea and get feedback, possibly take it further?

Appreciate it.

7/24/2015 5:51:28 PM

Shark Tank, obviously

7/24/2015 9:00:30 PM

I realize this thread is about web businesses, but hear me out, maybe I can offer some insight.

I am in outside sales, which is currently salary+commission, but will move into straight commission starting at the beginning of July 2010. I have been in this position since July 2009. I have competition from several direct manufacturing sales reps, large distributors, and local distributors. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of each:

Direct Advantages: Immediate knowledge of new technology, no middle man mark up, one shipping bill (paid by manufacturer or buyer of goods), access to larger range of non-commodity items, control inventory, have access to many distributors that can effectively sell their goods which increases market share, and set prices of commodity they manufacture.

Direct disadvantages: Typically have 1-3 sales reps per region (i.e. southeast, mid-atlantic, northeast, etc.) limiting the number of accounts they can successfully manage/cold-call, lack physical customer service or physical technical service available to or affordable for smaller users or altogether, are sometimes not trustworthy because they will go in behind their distributors that sell their commodity to one account in large quantities (i.e. they missed a big account, and have found out about it through a distributor selling their particular product) which leads to the distributor not selling their product anymore, have too many distributors selling the product ultimately driving the set price down through deviations, possibly rely on distributors to actually sell the product, and competition from other direct sources.

Large distributor advantages: have access to other commodities that go hand in hand with other manufacturers (poor example- grocery stores sell milk as well as cereal), get direct pricing, many locations regionally or nationally easing the shipping burden of buyers with multiple locations, personal service either customer or technical, many sales reps that are able to cover a broader territory, access to multiple manufacturers of the same commodity allowing to keep prices in check, service programs that smaller companies can't offer and direct providers can't match in price or value, and experts of many many commodities as opposed to one or a few.

Large distributor disadvantages: smaller local distributors creating price wars (think Michael Scott Paper Co vs Dunder-Mifflin), direct mfg's going in behind and stealing business, limited access to all of the mfg's (you won't find Harris Teeter name brands in Food Lion and visa versa), can't truly set prices because it's based on both supply and demand, territory management, and tough growth prospects in slower economies (this is true for direct as well really)

Local distributor advantages: Typically a good ol' boy setting where the seller and the buyer know each other for years (this does happen at all levels, but mostly at the local level), local folks are right down the street and can be used in emergencies, if the local guy buys at high enough volumes then there is no shipping charge to the end user, and access to both direct mfg's and large distributors.

Local distributor disadvantages: easily beaten in price, array of commodities, array of technology, lack of trained staff, low cash flow, etc etc etc.

This is what I have noticed in my six months, I am sure there are plenty more that need mentioning. The way I am setting myself apart as a sales person is this: I go after the big accounts right now while I am new. The big accounts, if I land them, will take care of me while I am new and building a customer base. The money made off of those allows me to focus free time on smaller accounts that get me higher margins. I build up big accounts, I would like to have 5-10 of these, then get 20-30 medium accounts. If I lose 1 or 2 big accounts, the 20-30 medium accounts keep me afloat while I go after new big accounts. I don't really waste time on small accounts simply because they basically pay for breakfast or something really small.

I will say this, if you can't get a big account in the first 6-8 months (assuming you have cash flow that you can ride this long) you could be in a world of trouble. If you can get one, it will really make going after the others a lot more enjoyable and less stressful. It's simply just very exhausting wasting any time on anything other than big accounts in the very beginning. You work just as hard on the medium sized accounts and see 1/3 to 1/36 of the money in my situation.

If you have any other questions, you can PM me. I hope this helps in the slightest!

7/24/2015 9:07:43 PM

I realize this thread is about web businesses, but hear me out, maybe I can offer some insight.

I am in outside sales, which is currently salary+commission, but will move into straight commission starting at the beginning of July 2010. I have been in this position since July 2009. I have competition from several direct manufacturing sales reps, large distributors, and local distributors. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of each:

Direct Advantages: Immediate knowledge of new technology, no middle man mark up, one shipping bill (paid by manufacturer or buyer of goods), access to larger range of non-commodity items, control inventory, have access to many distributors that can effectively sell their goods which increases market share, and set prices of commodity they manufacture.

Direct disadvantages: Typically have 1-3 sales reps per region (i.e. southeast, mid-atlantic, northeast, etc.) limiting the number of accounts they can successfully manage/cold-call, lack physical customer service or physical technical service available to or affordable for smaller users or altogether, are sometimes not trustworthy because they will go in behind their distributors that sell their commodity to one account in large quantities (i.e. they missed a big account, and have found out about it through a distributor selling their particular product) which leads to the distributor not selling their product anymore, have too many distributors selling the product ultimately driving the set price down through deviations, possibly rely on distributors to actually sell the product, and competition from other direct sources.

Large distributor advantages: have access to other commodities that go hand in hand with other manufacturers (poor example- grocery stores sell milk as well as cereal), get direct pricing, many locations regionally or nationally easing the shipping burden of buyers with multiple locations, personal service either customer or technical, many sales reps that are able to cover a broader territory, access to multiple manufacturers of the same commodity allowing to keep prices in check, service programs that smaller companies can't offer and direct providers can't match in price or value, and experts of many many commodities as opposed to one or a few.

Large distributor disadvantages: smaller local distributors creating price wars (think Michael Scott Paper Co vs Dunder-Mifflin), direct mfg's going in behind and stealing business, limited access to all of the mfg's (you won't find Harris Teeter name brands in Food Lion and visa versa), can't truly set prices because it's based on both supply and demand, territory management, and tough growth prospects in slower economies (this is true for direct as well really)

Local distributor advantages: Typically a good ol' boy setting where the seller and the buyer know each other for years (this does happen at all levels, but mostly at the local level), local folks are right down the street and can be used in emergencies, if the local guy buys at high enough volumes then there is no shipping charge to the end user, and access to both direct mfg's and large distributors.

Local distributor disadvantages: easily beaten in price, array of commodities, array of technology, lack of trained staff, low cash flow, etc etc etc.

This is what I have noticed in my six months, I am sure there are plenty more that need mentioning. The way I am setting myself apart as a sales person is this: I go after the big accounts right now while I am new. The big accounts, if I land them, will take care of me while I am new and building a customer base. The money made off of those allows me to focus free time on smaller accounts that get me higher margins. I build up big accounts, I would like to have 5-10 of these, then get 20-30 medium accounts. If I lose 1 or 2 big accounts, the 20-30 medium accounts keep me afloat while I go after new big accounts. I don't really waste time on small accounts simply because they basically pay for breakfast or something really small.

I will say this, if you can't get a big account in the first 6-8 months (assuming you have cash flow that you can ride this long) you could be in a world of trouble. If you can get one, it will really make going after the others a lot more enjoyable and less stressful. It's simply just very exhausting wasting any time on anything other than big accounts in the very beginning. You work just as hard on the medium sized accounts and see 1/3 to 1/36 of the money in my situation.

If you have any other questions, you can PM me. I hope this helps in the slightest!

7/24/2015 9:07:43 PM

Contact some venture capital funds.

Or call Brin or theFBfounderwhosenameimagicallycantrecallrightnow

7/24/2015 10:00:55 PM

http://m.legalzoom.com/

7/24/2015 11:37:21 PM

at least there were some good laughs had.....

7/25/2015 9:42:46 AM

This is about web business, but listen to me. I'm the dreaded “Business Sales guy" with an Internet startup that "just needs a technical guy". Could it get any worse? Yes - I also worked for random companies in sales positions and have failed with a few small business ideas.

...but please put down the weapons - I have some redeeming features!

I am currently in the position financially to work 40 plus hours a week on this latest venture(Portal 4D) which is a first in my life(27 years old for those who must know). The past two months I have built the first real concept working on market validation and segmentation, have been working with consultants and tech incubators to get to the point of having a minimum viable product.

I have been working for pre-seed round funding and one thing that was impressed on me was that I need a technical co-founder. I agree.

Portal 4d is not currently built other than some wire framing ideas.

I'm looking for someone who loves the Portal 4D concept, particularly if they have worked in a customer service environment or with large companies that can not provide adequate customer service. I'm not married to a particular development platform and will be open to all suggestions.
The general concept is a virtual customer service employee who from our call center will provide our clients customers with trained assistance via video conferencing on a mobile phone or tablet.
Joining full-time would be dependent on me getting further funding (unless you really want to start full-time now which I would prefer). I haven't really started pitching seriously yet, but off the back of a few industry connections I have some pretty good investor interest.

Equity etc to be discussed!

About me: in a former life I was a in the construction business, with a degree in Construction Technology. So while I can't do much with Java, I used to be pretty good at solving real world problems with out of the box solutions. My goal is to find a co-founder who believes what I believe and work together so that we can all succeed.

Comment if you like

7/25/2015 10:35:46 AM

7/25/2015 11:13:32 AM

i feel like you aren't going to get people to invest in a startup that is "very similar" to established sites.

7/25/2015 11:27:50 AM

It's easy to start businesses with no skills or domain knowledge. It happens in the movies all the time after the montage. Just play Eye of the Tiger and you'll be straight.

7/25/2015 11:34:13 AM

Not looking for investors, at this point.

Lowes and Home Depot exist, sometimes down the street from each other.
Walgreens and CVS can throw rocks at each other.
WalMart.com takes it to Amazon.com on Prime Day.
Similar models can exist in the same space. Not scared of that.

Yes, Sharktank, obviously, how did I not think of that?! Don't think that is the path I'd need to take.

Moving on....

7/26/2015 10:23:19 AM

So, you're just going to start out on the same level of your competition, despite the fact you admittedly have no idea what you are doing?

Okay.

A more correct example would be a random bum opening a tiny hardware store between a Lowes and Home Depot.

7/26/2015 12:59:25 PM

Well, I know what I'm doing. What I'm really looking at this point is some guidance as to make the smartest moves/who to work with/best people to talk business with when it comes to coding a custom web based interface to handle large amounts of traffic (to do this in a unique way) as I'm not in that field, I know what I want to do can be done (very simply), but the best avenue to go down?

And not be at the same level as the competitors at first, can't come out swinging that hard. You know, that whole start small, grow organically, don't over leverage capital/stay lean/, all that good stuff.

The competitors fail miserably at some things, and there are many opportunities to do it better and grow past them.

But it could be a bad idea/too much for me to handle solo/require too much $$$.....all things I need to find out.

7/26/2015 2:04:04 PM

This thread was a huge mistake, but keep revealing small nuggets of info from time to time to keep the laughs coming.

7/26/2015 2:06:25 PM

Until this guy comes out with what he's actually working on, in going to assume it's a porn site from now on. You all should do the same.

Also XJ? Is this another goddamn jeep guy?

7/26/2015 6:17:34 PM

LOL @ CaelNCSU

Quote :

"Yes, Sharktank, obviously, how did I not think of that?! Don't think that is the path I'd need to take. Moving on...."

LOL, benXJ seems kinda sassy to me.

My best advice would be to not be sassy or defensive when you're actually pitching to investors and whatnot.

^AHA, it's definitely a porn site in my mind now.

7/26/2015 6:24:36 PM

It's not the BangBus. It's the BangWagon

7/26/2015 7:10:59 PM

Quote :

"Well, I know what I'm doing. What I'm really looking at this point is some guidance as to make the smartest moves/who to work with/best people to talk business with when it comes to coding a custom web based interface to handle large amounts of traffic (to do this in a unique way) as I'm not in that field, I know what I want to do can be done (very simply), but the best avenue to go down? "

Here is some real talk. My job is working with partners and startups to get off the ground. First up, "coding a custom web interface to handle large amounts of traffic" is not simple, and will be even more difficult to do in a "unique" way. By your post it's very obvious that you have very little technical understanding of the space you're trying to enter. You need to find a technical partner. No accelerator, incubator, or investor is going to give you the time of day until you can actually prove you can build your idea.

If I were you and absolutely convinced that this is a big time business, I would be spending every waking moment finding a technical founder. Whitetruffle is a good resource for this, as are meetups. The unfortunate reality is that you either need to know people or have a huge pile of money to get bootstrapped. it sounds like you have neither, so focus on finding the people first.

You don't need the best of the best, and you won't be able to afford them anyway. You'd be fine with some recent college grads, because you just need someone who can execute and build a demo / prototype. Get there and then start applying for incubators and accelerators. They will help you find more talent, build a better architecture and create a viable business.

If you aren't willing to make this your only mission in life for the next 3-5 years, putting in 60+ hours a week, then move on. If you are, follow the guidance above and next year at this time you'll be well on your way.

7/26/2015 8:28:44 PM

HAH! Noen beat me to it.

I've been doing this for over a decade. What the fuck gave you the impression that you could build a scalable custom web interface very simply, because I'm dying to know?

7/27/2015 12:18:40 AM

Thanks for the advice Noen

Real talk is where its at.

Nothing I want to do is new....just some tweaks here and there of old ideas to make things more efficient and intuitive. No so much 'simply' as my idea is based off things that are currently done, and make up the backbone of many websites. So, not simply, but easily, for those that are in the field.

Yep, technical partner it is, and am currently talking with a few people about just that, due to the fact, that has been pointed out, that I lack the deep understanding of the digital world. I accept this.

I'm not looking to pitch to investors, or looking for any money for that matter, I need to know the steps/time/resources that would need to be invested in my idea. Then I could make the decision to move forward or shelve it. That was the reason for the initial post.

[Edited on July 27, 2015 at 4:41 PM. Reason : asdf]

7/27/2015 4:39:38 PM

I work in SAS sales.

It's dumb

[Edited on July 27, 2015 at 4:41 PM. Reason : Dumb]

7/27/2015 4:41:29 PM

Quote :

"Nothing I want to do is new....just some tweaks here and there of old ideas to make things more efficient and intuitive."

how does your business cope when your already-scaled competition releases these "easily done" tweaks as a point release? how do you differentiate yourself against an established competitor that just pushed you down and took your lunch? what do you pivot to?



one of the very first things i learned as a creator of things was that "no idea is new"

or better put - someone out there is already working on your idea

[Edited on July 27, 2015 at 5:58 PM. Reason : gotta come harder than just some "tweaks"]

7/27/2015 5:56:57 PM

Have you thought about contacting the lesser-funded Lovell?

7/27/2015 9:11:53 PM

The lesser funded Lovell is who helped fund my alcohol cabnit startup.

A++; would highly recommend

7/27/2015 9:22:21 PM

Yea. I've learned over the years that no idea is new. Just trying to create a more pleasurable/efficient/you'll get a better return on your time and effort experience.


You bring up good points about how to react when the 'competitor' fights back, and that is one of the many things that would need to be solidified. I believe there are enough things to incorporate into my idea that if the competitor actually was concerned, they would actually have to straight up copy me, which can happen, I am aware.

Like I said, that's the reason I was curious of the avenues out there for people that don't have a prototype, aren't looking for funding, but really want to know the backbones and work invovled, as to make better decisions and incorporate things that I don't even know exist.

7/28/2015 8:03:02 PM

So, you're gonna have like a virtual reality porn site?

7/28/2015 8:07:15 PM