I’ve attended a slew of tech conferences/unconferences, speaking events, happy hours, etc. over the last few months and noticed a theme. A lot of people view corporations as a sort of developmental league for technology start-ups. When an employee comes up with a good idea, the first thing they should do is hire an attorney so their employer doesn’t try to “steal” it. The next steps: pitch your idea to a VC, get funding, and grow rich.
Here’s what I don’t get: why are people afraid of sharing their ideas with their employer and dead set on starting from scratch?
Don’t get me wrong. There are lots of upsides to striking out on your own. It’s a challenge to build a company, there’s potential for a huge reward – both financial and a sense of accomplishment, there’s a lot of freedom in being your own boss, you might get Scobleized or Kawasakied or Arringtoned. But it’s also hard as hell. You probably have a better shot of getting into the NBA than launching the next Google (NOTE: for you current/retired pro b-ball players that read this blog, pretend I just wrote “FIFA”; Sergei and Larry… see you guys at the thing).
But there are some significant upsides to “pitching” your employer. First and foremost, it’s probably the easiest meeting you’ll ever get with a potential investor. I don’t know the exact number, but I’d guess VCs meet with less than 1% of the individuals that approach them. Who do you think is more willing to take a chance on you? Your current employer or a bunch of guys/women managing $500M in investors’ coin who have never heard of you? A small or medium business might not have the deep pockets of a Silicon Valley VC firm, but they probably aren’t looking for a 10x return on investment, either.
I’m not suggesting that you give away your idea to your employer. If it’s a great idea, one that can make money for your employer, you deserve a share of those profits. Just like a VC, though, if your employer agrees to take on the risk, they deserve a piece of those profits, too. Nor am I suggesting that your current employer will say “yes” to every idea. Lots of Clarity employees – both current employees and alums – have “pitched” interesting (and sometimes fantastic) ideas to Clarity’s management team that didn’t align well with our business or required a bigger investment than we’re capable of making. So we passed. And some of them went elsewhere. But I appreciated the fact that they brought it to us first, and hats off to them for believing so strongly in their ideas. Nor do I believe that every employer has a heart of gold. If you’re working for a jerk (or a gaggle of jerks), don’t waste your time.
So, the next time you come up with a $1M (or $1B) idea, consider talking to your employer. “innerVenture Capital” or iVC (thanks, kmarshall) is often the easiest money to get.
PS – Clarity made the Inc. 5000!
I just read an article that used the word “entrepreneur” at least 20 times in two pages (before I stopped counting). “Entrepreneur” and its sinister step-child “serial entrepreneur” are so overused they are almost meaningless. Seems like anyone who quits their job refers to him/herself as an entrepreneur. It’s the business world equivalent of an Ed Hardy shirt: their rarity made them cool, but now they’re everywhere…and not so cool.
Entrepreneur comes from the French word “entreprendre” which means “to undertake.” I think that sells “real” entrepreneurs short. The best ones don’t just undertake a task; they finish it. They might make mistakes, but they finish. There’s already a demeaning term for the pretenders (“wantrapreneur”), so I'm giving the finishers a new title: accomplipreneur. Now to come up with a way to make sure only those deserving of the title get it…