Business idea: create a home-sized version of a laundry folding machine and sell it to millions. Integrate it with a clothes washer and dryer. Put dirty laundry in one side and get clean, folded laundry on the other.

Having 2 kids I would greatly appreciate the utility of such a device. It shall be Netzah's best selling product.

Any takers?
posted by Arley at 10:24 PM

Seven points to consider before quitting your job and going full-time with your own software start-up:

• 1 - Bring on all the core people you need in the beginning. Maybe a friend/collegue like Charles, maybe someone else. Someone high-intensity you know you can work with. Consider merging with Zane's Liquid Labs if he can work with you in a consensus environment (I have some doubt that he would be willing to do this). Make sure you have enough people; four person teams are better than three person teams.

• 2 - Minimize debt. Keep debt/equity at a max of 1. That means if you take on debt funding you'll also need to put in your own cash to purchase stock. Use advance funding (have customer pay an advance before starting the project), royalty payments (pay the customer a royalty in exchange for getting up-front money) , and profit sharing (get your customer to invest in your stock) to minimize required startup capital.

• 3 - Have at least two products. You shouldn't be a one-product company. It may be a spin-off product, it may be something built on a common framework with the original product, it may be a substantial consulting arm, it may be something else entirely, but you need to have at least two products.

• 4 - Have at least two customers. The customers may not be equal in size. They may be (preferably be) in different industries. Maybe one customer buys your product and another buys your consulting services, but have at least two major customers.

• 5 - Be location-independent. You may have a physical office where many are located, but all should not be forced to live in the same place. Use zephyr/instant-message/email to be a distributed company. Weekly or monthly in-person meetings should be budgeted including travel expense. If someone wants to work from Boston, Houston, or Santiago this should be acceptable.

• 6 - Go global. You should hookup with a Canadian, English, Austrailian, etc. marketing group or customer early on in the game. You should be global from the beginning. Consider using offshore talent where appropriate, if it is ever appropriate.

• 7 - Have evidence you will succeed. Not a guarantee, but evidence. If we are basing the decision on your first product, you need to look at past sales trends and future opportunities and base your decision on reasonable numbers. You should not commit to rosy projections and waste everyone's money. You should basing your future on more than just vaporware.

posted by Arley at 6:11 PM