My Vision for Implementing It
So sure enough that it the vision – now, what is my vision for implementing it?
There have to be other people out there who have thought of it and done it….
My search on the web provided me with a lot of great organizations that support the endeavor of entrepreneurship – all kinds of help to discuss business ideas – all kinds of seminars – all kinds of consultancies to write business plans. All great and useful tools for starting a business.
But how do I bring true value?
A friend I discussed the idea with mentioned health insurance for groups or people who are working independently on their projects.
I think that idea definitely has merit. I think I definitely need to explore that option.
If I were to set up a company and have subscribing members to the company, can I offer health insurance at a better rate than what is available for individuals? Do people have to be employees in order to get group rates for health insurance? What is Wal-Mart doing? Were they going to offer insurance or just prescription drugs…. I thought I had heard something along that vein.
The basic model for Startup Cents is that people can subscribe to a site, and based on review/selection/voting, a significant share of the subscription goes towards providing grants to startup companies.
But there should be value beside the grants, and that is where the health insurance comes in as a strong candidate.
What about sharing legal or accounting costs, or patent counsel or special support for cross licensing agreements. Can the company facilitate that?
These are the sorts of additional value propositions that the company can and will provide.
There have to be other people out there who have thought of it and done it….
My search on the web provided me with a lot of great organizations that support the endeavor of entrepreneurship – all kinds of help to discuss business ideas – all kinds of seminars – all kinds of consultancies to write business plans. All great and useful tools for starting a business.
But how do I bring true value?
A friend I discussed the idea with mentioned health insurance for groups or people who are working independently on their projects.
I think that idea definitely has merit. I think I definitely need to explore that option.
If I were to set up a company and have subscribing members to the company, can I offer health insurance at a better rate than what is available for individuals? Do people have to be employees in order to get group rates for health insurance? What is Wal-Mart doing? Were they going to offer insurance or just prescription drugs…. I thought I had heard something along that vein.
The basic model for Startup Cents is that people can subscribe to a site, and based on review/selection/voting, a significant share of the subscription goes towards providing grants to startup companies.
But there should be value beside the grants, and that is where the health insurance comes in as a strong candidate.
What about sharing legal or accounting costs, or patent counsel or special support for cross licensing agreements. Can the company facilitate that?
These are the sorts of additional value propositions that the company can and will provide.
posted by Niru Sharma at 7:48 PM
2 Comments:
A great idea, and one that's certainly needed, sort of like a communal petri dish for incubating early stage entrepreneurs. I just hope that getting them to help each other doesn't become a "herding cats" problem. :)
Best of of luck Niru!
Regards,
Steve
One interesting development in my thinking about startups is the realization that, if I were to join a network of inventors and entrepreneurs, I can easily see myself choosing to invest my savings and time in other people's projects, both because I may like other people's ideas better than my own, and because I can see other people, in a different life situation and cost environment, being able to execute more successfully than I can.
I've found it fascinating how much can be done with small investments, e.g. through micro lending and entrepreneurship in less prosperous countries.
I've also witnessed first hand the enormous drive that some people in such countries have. I still have a vivid memory of my rickshaw driver in Delhi measuring his just-pumped fuel with a ruler inserted into the tank. The margins under which he and millions of others operate are truly amazing.
I think it's truly an interesting notion to put inventors and entrepreneurs in the part-time role of investors themselves, and face them with the question: Would you invest in your own project, or a different one (or both)? Or, even, would you invest time in your own or someone else's project?
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