West Australian Innovators - What are the first steps to convert your idea to a business?
Welcome Innovators (future Founders!) !
Last week we looked at key facts new Founders needed to know about the WA Startup landscape which is a good place to start once you’ve decided to take the plunge! It does raise the question of how you decide whether to take the plunge though!
So, what are the first steps you should consider before you take the plunge?
TLDR for those not wanting to read further! - However, do get in touch with us if you’re wondering whether to convert your business - we’ll buy the coffee!
Has someone else already patented your idea?
Assuming your idea is patentable, this is a critical go/no go point. You can check for patents at IP Australia - but it can be difficult to determine whether an existing patent actually covers yours. Hopefully you won’t find any similar inventions - don’t despair if there is something vaguely similar. Just note that IP advice is going to be a must, possibly before you decide to create a startup.
Educate yourself!
A decision to create a startup can be life changing - don’t plunge in without getting at least an idea of what you’re getting into. Where should you go? Well, if you do a search for Western Australian startup resources you’ll get links to a variety of organisations, programs etc. However, to start with look for events where you can have a chat with existing Founders in a more casual environment. If you’re in Perth, check out Morning Startup or Freo Founders as examples, but there are many other worthwhile organisations!
One thing to get familiar with is terminology - you can find some of the key terms here
Realistically consider your funding requirements and where the money is going to come from
Funding is a key requirement which determines the success of your future business. Depending on the nature of your invention, your funding requirements are going to be very different. Be clear on what you want out of your proposed business - licencing your tech may in fact be a better bet than trying to commercialise it - depending on what you want.
One key question to ask yourself is “what am I prepared to give away?”. Investors are going to want a return on their money taking into account the risk that your business won’t succeed. So, the earlier you need investor funds the more risky your business is and the more they are going to ask.
Do you have an appropriate attitude?
If you haven’t run a startup before, you probably don’t have the breadth of skills you need. Creating a startup requires a significant level of business knowledge, which you potentially have to provide - skimping on this can create significant issues later. So, be ready to listen and learn!
Importantly, be ready to hear some version of “No” a lot.
And, harking back to number 3, if you’re not funding your startup fully by yourself, are you really ready to work cooperatively with investors to attract the funding needed?
It may be that you need a co-founder, or a team to provide the necessary skills. Be realistic with yourself - yes it is always your idea, but you may need help to make it successful.
Do you have the network needed to make your idea a success in the timeframe you want?
We’ve written before on the importance of networks (here and here for example) - in WA your network(s) can make life so much easier. It’s well worth allocating time to develop your network, amongst all the other tasks you’ll have to do.
These aren’t the only questions you should ask yourself, but if you can’t answer these as a minimum we’d strongly suggest not leaping into a startup! However, the beauty of having your own startup is that you can run it the way you want. Success is, however, often achieved faster through collaboration!
As we mentioned in the last article, we’re putting together a program that will help innovators creating startups - this will be launching in a couple of weeks.