I got a question in the email yesterday related to the article about next steps after the idea he asked where could he get financing for a first prototype.
The thing is, if you do not have a great background nobody will finance you just because you had an idea. Having an idea is not that difficult, putting it into practice and executing is what differentiates winners from losers.
So, what do you do, though? Well, the best option is family, friends and fools, or the 3F’s, as they are called.
The reasoning behind it? If you are not capable of selling an idea to people that know and trust you, you have a big problem: either the idea is bad or you are incapable of selling it. Usually it’s the second case, because an idea is not inherently bad (well, within reason), it’s the execution that sucks.
There is a silver lining in all of this: you can get better if it’s your fault. You can talk to as many people as possible, understand your own plan better (do you really need money or resources?). If you need resources, maybe you can get a developer and a graphic designer to believe in the same idea and, all of a sudden, you have several thousand dollars worth of resources available every month.
Another option is to self fund. We’ve done this at MavenHut for the first 9 months (yes, we got €12,000 from Startup Bootcamp, but we spent all of it in those months of staying in Dublin). It wasn’t easy, but we thought it was worth it. The thing is, though, that we assumed that if it doesn’t work we will lose the money, so see if you are prepared for such a commitment.
What you can do, then, is to get a job and work on your idea in the evenings. It makes for a difficult period of time, your social life might suffer, but hey, it’s your idea and your dream!
You have to take into consideration something, though: things do not happen fast. No matter what, it will probably take years to see your first prototype. If you are not willing to put the effort in, it might not be for you.
And, on the bombshell, to quote Top Gear, what are you waiting for? Go build that prototype. It’s not gonna be easy and it’s not gonna happen on its own :)
P.S.: I actually know of a case where a guy learned to program enough on his own that he was capable to create a prototype (ugly and bad), but it was enough to get an angel investment. So, there are options you can consider.
