Are you going to present your fundraising ideas? here are 9 simple but safe ways to stop bankers, sponsors, and investors from stealing your ideas.
Unique business ideas are not easy to come by. Think about all the sleepless nights, brainstorming, and all the financial and non-financial resources you put into it. Finally, you feel like you have your passport to wealth. Soon you will be sitting with billionaires and giving interviews. Your name will soon be on Forbes’ Richest People List.
Oh no, wait a minute, it isn’t! Why? Because someone just stole your business idea, and unfortunately this guy has enough money to spend, as you think about how to raise money to invest in this new vehicle, he’s got ten steps away. ahead of you. …
Sadly, this is the story of so many smart people who take the time to develop some really smart business ideas and then because they don’t jealously guard their ideas, someone steals them. You can sue people and get involved in lawsuits that may or may not end in your favor, or you can protect your business ideas from theft by investors, bankers, or sponsors.
Will business ideas really be stolen?
You would be shocked at the fun ways business ideas were stolen. A close friend had this personal experience a few months ago. He had already developed a very smart business idea and was raising money to finance a project when someone missed the idea.
In this case, even the investors or sponsors did not steal the idea but the project accountant. During a conversation with her boyfriend, she revealed some details about the project. Her smart guy with the bags of money saw a huge business opportunity, and before we all knew it, the project was hijacked.
You need to know how to protect your business ideas from people who, knowingly or unknowingly, steal your business ideas. Business ideas can also be stolen by sponsors or investors through your business plan.
A potential investor will ask for your business plan as one of the main criteria to base their decisions on you.To convince investors that your business is worth their money, you will go the extra mile to prepare a well-written business plan. Unfortunately, it can backfire if done wrong. Here’s how to protect your business ideas:
9 ways to stop bankers and investors from stealing your idea
1. Non-disclosure agreements … Before you disclose your unique business idea, make sure you get them to sign a nondisclosure agreement that will prevent them from disclosing, using or passing on your business idea to anyone else. .
Investors can sometimes frown on the idea of signing nondisclosure agreements as a way to protect yourself, but you can still protect your business idea by maintaining your business plan with a confidential clause that states that the content must not. not be disclosed without proper authorization, or permissions.
2.keep your secrets secret … People can only know what you tell them about your business idea. If you want to protect your ideas from theft, make sure you don’t over-share your business idea with investors. Identify only what will help them make decisions. If there is a knowledge, strategy, or secret ingredient that makes your idea stand out, steer it away from investors.
3. Patents: patents are also very effective in protecting business ideas against theft. The only problem is that patent rights are expensive. For example, in the United States of America, you need about $ 10,000 to get a patent right for your business idea.
However, all hope is not lost, as you can still get away with a provisional patent. which is cheaper to get but will last around 12 months. But that should be enough to cover your fundraising period and protect your ideas from theft by potential investors.
4. Document the process of developing your idea – … Before coming up with this business idea, you probably had to think a lot and come up with a strategy. You must have added a few settings here and there and changed some things. Now you need to make sure it’s all written down
5.investigation – … Many people see themselves as potential investors just to steal your ideas and sell them to other people. As such, you need to do a lot of checking before you can trust anyone to the point of revealing your business ideas or plans to them. Work with people with conscientious and proven track record, and completely avoid people whose trust you cannot guarantee.
6. Offer good incentives: you can make people steal your business idea by being greedy. As much as possible, be very generous with your rewards and share your profits with your investors. This will make them feel like they are part of the project and prevent them from doing anything that might jeopardize the project.
7. Jealously guard your business plan: don’t rush to hand over your business plan to everyone who asks for it. You must stand up for your business plan and only give it away when you are sure you are dealing with people you trust.
8. Contact your legal advisor: it is also advisable to involve and consult your lawyer. When people know you have legal backing, they’ll probably think twice before stealing your business idea.
9. Be fast in business: timing is key to protecting your business idea from theft and you shouldn’t be kidding. You can’t expect to leave your business idea behind for 5 years without waiting for someone else to think about it. something similar or even better. So once you get the idea, start working on it and make sure you don’t rest until your huge dream comes true.
