How Ruthless Is Business?

[Raphael]

I have an idea for an online business that has a lot of potentials and I have the technical competencies to build it. I also know someone who has contacts who can fund my business, so I can get started pretty fast.

However, even though I'm already a freelancer, I consider that I'm still quite inexperienced in the business & marketing domains. I would like to understand how competitive it can be and how ruthless other businesses can be.

My idea is in the web applications domain, I need feedback, real-life stories, and experiences. Please share yours owns.

[Average Investor]

A lot of it will come down the industry you are entering into. You are going to be going against people who are depending on this to survive. They want to feed their families. Some people are ruthless and will do anything it takes to get ahead even if it requires harming other people. Not everyone is like that though. You can actually find those who want to work together and create something together. 

Make sure you have a written agreement for funding and I would suggest getting that through a lawyer. In your case you obviously have the advantage though since you are the one receiving the funds, so you would benefit from not having one. Regardless one should be made that clearly will state the roles and interest of other parties in your business and ownership.

I would not worry that much about the competition. You can use it for a good gauge to learn from and see how you can expand. Depending on the niche most would likely just leave you alone. 

When I was younger I worried more about what the competition was doing. Bad actors usually take care of themselves and you really don't have to say much. In fact you look better if you say nothing at all about them. Especially if you are more established than the other. 

[Raphael]

I never thought that way concerning competitors. Should we not have a look sometimes at how they are doing in order to compare ourselves?

I never met my contact physically because he lives in another country, we only talked on Skype until now, so I'm a little careful too. I'm currently quite ignorant of the law and regulations in both countries, so I don't know how it will go for the lawyer.

However, I got a huge positive intuition when he announced that he could fund my project. I got this idea last year that is very promising, and innovative, I kept thinking about it almost every week, I met this guy several months after, and now he is proposing me to fund it. Being able to work full-time on my dream project is very appealing, it seems like everything is synchronizing for me, but I'm still careful though.

[Average Investor]

23 hours ago, Raphael said:

Should we not have a look sometimes at how they are doing in order to compare ourselves?

Yeah, you can even spawn some ideas off of it. Steve Jobs was able to transform computing by doing that. He just paid to see what Zerox was doing with their computer. Which in turn has made Apple one of the largest companies on the planet from the ideas he got just from look at what they were doing. Just don't take it to a point where it hinders your progress is more what I am saying. 

Yeah, you will have to work out what you want to do. If I were an investor like that I would want shares of the company. But I don't really know the situation and what they want. You are going to want to figure out what they want and discuss those terms with them. It is doable to have a foreign investor own part of it, or you could possibly have some from of repayment with interest etc. 

 

[Raphael]

@Average Investor

My contact also told me that it's not possible to bootstrap a business without fundings. I didn't really understand why. Do you know why?

I'm sure that he is talking about the online web applications business.

Edited May 20, 2020 by Raphael

[Average Investor]

@Raphael I've started businesses with $100 or less before. It all depends on what you are doing. If you can sell a product or service with just a minimal investment go from there. It really just depends on your ability to make a profit on what you are selling or offering. Obviously the actual paperwork to register everything can be a couple hundred or so if you filed everything yourself to become a legitimate business. But in terms of getting something just off the ground a bit it is doable with not much money depending on your industry. 

What exactly are you wanting to start or do? You can be vague if you want, but just to give me an idea of the capital needed. 

Edited May 20, 2020 by Average Investor

[Austin Actualizing]

Are you solving a problem that people desire to fix in a unsaturated market? @Raphael

[Raphael]

@Austin Actualizing

Maybe, maybe it will create a whole new market too.