Trust Me. Answer the Budget Question.
Why you should discuss your budget.
My passion is building a business out of an idea. I want to hear as many ideas as I can from as many people as I can. I want to help fuel them with their creators into a tangible product. That’s me, that’s Brian Kenny. I’ve always had this itch.
When people or companies approach MiniCorp with an idea, after some initial discussion on the idea some of our initial questions go something like:
- Who’s involved in the team driving this?
- Have you quit the day job for this?
- What’s your budget?
I think there’s some ambiguity on this budget question and I really want to set the record straight as to why it’s asked. It’s not our intention to figure out what your budget is and try to extrapolate as much of that out of you as possible and roll around on a mattress with €20 notes.
The reason for the budget question is simple. It’s to determine have you already sourced capital to fund this idea. To determine the scale at which you envisage version 1 being built to.
Some clients will need nothing more than InVision mockups for their MVP (minimum viable product) which they can then use to get a sale. Then fund the development of the product through that sale.
Others have researched their industry throughly and understand if this idea is to gain traction, we need to have a fully polished web, iOS and Android application. It’s apples and oranges and fully dependant on the idea and what it’s going after.
Even with all of this, if you come to MiniCorp with an idea. We’ll discuss it in-dept with you. If we’re to make an impact, we need to share the same passion for that idea as you do. If your budget is €20k and we know that all you need to get this done is €5, we’ll tell you.
If you have your ambitions are set on creating a fully polished product when we feel that you should release a paired back featured set initially, listen to customer feedback and iterate. We’ll tell you. It’s our job.
It’s only through the unity of our team and yours that this idea will become something. Our passion is in launching that idea of yours. Answering that budget question tells me:
- Have you done your homework and understand what’s required to gain traction on this?
- Do you know and understand the industry well?
- Can we do anything at MiniCorp both technically and business wise to save these guys money?
- Is there any industry knowledge or learnings that we have that can be applied to that idea?
Quick One on NDAs
This is a little bit of a tangent but something I’d like to share on non disclosure agreements. I get that people want to protect their IP (Intellectual Property). It makes sense. A lot of companies come to MiniCorp with great ideas but require us to sign an NDA before hand. I also understand why, but here’s what I think:
If three people were given the same idea, the same amount of capital and never saw each other again for 6 months, what they would have built would be a completely different product.
I’m all for protection in a market saturated with creators but please don’t let it affect speed. If getting an NDA created, sign and filed away is getting in the way of your goal to launch that idea, that’s a problem.
I personally don’t require a person to sign an NDA before I discuss my latest idea. I want to talk to as many people about that idea and not be limited. I’ll of course be selective about who I discuss it with. For example, I won’t pitch to a direct competitor unless it makes strategic sense.
