How to partner up with a designer, programmer, webmaster for your start up

[Harold Mansfield]

Like most of you who do web work, at least once a month someone wants to make me a partner in their website idea. Which basically means, "I need you to build it and I'll share the profits with you". I have to date, turned every one of these "offers" down. Mainly because they aren't bringing anything to the table that makes me need them.

But if you truly are looking for a "partner" that has the expertise that you need to get your idea off of the ground, what is the best way to approach them to make your offer sound attractive?

Most people with these offers have no plan. Don't really understand anything about the web, and are basing their proposal on the fact that their idea is so great. I wrote a blog post covering the most basic truths of why web services people aren't interested in your partnership, but I'd be interested in hearing more opinions.

Some of the most basic points that I tried to cover were:

1. You idea isn't that original.
2. You need to bring some talent to the table that shows that you can make this work.
3. You need to have a plan of how you will achieve the numbers that you have arbitrarily written down.
4. Offering a percentage of nothing, is still nothing.
5. Offer a retainer up front, with a deal for profit sharing on the back end.

What other advice would you give for people who are shopping around to build a team of specialists, to make their offer attractive and credible?
Also,, how many ventures are truly succesful in starting this way? Everything I see is start ups actually hiring people with VC money that they have secured. Not actually a team of people all working for free hoping for a pay day.

Am I wrong here? Is it still possible to start this way?

[billbenson]

Well Apple started that way! I would say it needs to be something you believe in.

[SellRex]

Right ...

"Not actually a team of people all working for free hoping for a pay day."

Unless they are friends in or just out of college, that does seem rare.

[Harold Mansfield]

Well Apple started that way! I would say it needs to be something you believe in.
Yeah, but they had skills and an idea. Most people that come to me, just have an idea and no skills.

[billbenson]

Yeah, but they had skills and an idea. Most people that come to me, just have an idea and no skills.

I agree, but every once in a while an opportunity presents itself. Don't automatically rule it out.

[nealrm]

Apple started out as a group that shared a common idea. That is not the same as someone having a vague idea and trying to get a programmer to put out the labor to make it happen. If you have an idea for a great website, HIRE the programmer.

Unless it is a site that has both an online and offline aspect, I don't really see a programmer / manager partnership working. Both parties need to bring something to the table that is important for the long term in the business. Idea are too easy to generate. It is the making the idea work that is hard. So a partnership between the person generating that generated the idea and the programmer would be too lopsided to work long term.

[billbenson]

But lets say the owner of a successful offline company wants to go online. Eborg knows web design and online marketing. Sure the business owner could hire an Eborg type as an employee. But lets say Mr Business Owner sees the online market as doubling his profits. It might be better for him to partner with someone so they have an interest in the success of the online portion.

Or lets say someone approaches Eborg with a great idea, but wouldn't be able to contribute much to the party. If the contract is set up properly, Eborg could make a ton of money even though his partners an idiot.

These are long shot scenario's, but opportunities do happen!

[nealrm]

Ideas in general are a dime a dozen, its making them happen that creates the money. So any partnership would need to be a 90/10 split.

The first item is a possible partnership. Where one does the online work and the other does the offline aspects. It can also be done where Eborg wages are tied to the success of the online portion. The real question is risk. As an employee Eborg would have less risk, but also less potential rewards. As a partner, the potential for rewards is greater, but so is the downside.

[Harold Mansfield]

Most times all people have is a "great idea for a website". Well big deal. So do I. 100's of them.
So the partnership is basically, they need me to build it, but have no plan after that for marketing. I could spend 24/7 building ideas.

Most people lack any knowledge of the industry that they are trying to capitolize on, and usually base thier future success on arbitrary numbers of existing, already successful websites and assume to get a portion of that business. With no real plan that includes how to do it.

You can't take numbers from a company that has already spent millions ( or maybe even thousands) in development, advertising and marketing and then say, "If we just get 10% of that, we'll be rich"...and you don't have 10% of the budget that it took them to get it.

[libra]

Ideally, one should build up one's own business using outsourcing as a means, if one can afford it. Partnerships more often than not are prone to disagreements along the way, though there are undoubtedly examples of synergistic partnerships.

[Dan Furman]

5. Offer a retainer up front, with a deal for profit sharing on the back end.


That's it right there. No money = no work.

If you have an idea, a plan, and some money to get it going, I would enter a partnership. But like eborg said, most people offering this have nothing.

[bigthinkagency]

Harold,

I've been doing web design for the past 14 years and I can honestly say there hasn't been a single year go by that someone approaches me with the same "I've got the greatest idea in the world and I am going to make you a partner!" In fact, I've had TWO since January 1 of THIS year.

One was a long time client that actually paid for his actual company website but then got this great idea to start a new company....Luckily, it never got beyond me creating a new logo as the "third guy" in the venture never held up his end of the deal so the idea never took off. Otherwise, I would have put a lot of time and effort into launching this new website and then there was NOTHING to back it up or sell on it!

I do have one offer, the other of the two, that I am probably going to end up partnering with this guy simply because he truly has a great idea and the ability to backup his offer. So there are exceptions to the rule but for the most part, most of these guys just want someone to take their "idea" and do all of the work for free and if it fails then blame you. Yah, no thanks.

[ClarkLorraine]

Although I look at my offers and don’t immediately toss them, I don’t usually go with it. In most cases the risk is much more than the reward and I don’t have the time to meddle with things that probably won’t help me out.