[kwlug-disc] non-compete agreement.

[unsolicited]

OK, Joe, so based on Glenn's advice ...

Draw up a really detailed project plan. Pretend you're the owner of 
said company and have hired multiple staff.

- what do you want them to do
- what is it going to look like
- what's next
- having completed that, what's next
- keep going until you have the final product
- what are the milestones
- what are the deliverables

i.e. If you go to a web shop, as you hope, these are all things you're 
going to have to have anyways. Doing this will also be a set of core 
material the lawyer will want. The lawyer will want more, as per 
Glenn, but this process will put you in the proper mindset. (I expect 
it will be seriously cheaper to have this stuff in hand before you 
first meet with a lawyer. And at that initial meeting, also find out 
what all you will have to produce for him.)

Something you may want to think about - do you want to contract a guy 
or company, or do you want someone to develop your idea / project 
manage it?

Think about your skills, your abilities, your time, and your 
interests. Are you ready to devote your life to this? (I'm not saying 
you should or shouldn't, merely that you need to think about what sort 
of commitment you're prepared to make or embark upon.)

You could think of this as a learning experience, being prepared to 
not come out the other side with 100% of <thunk>.

Perhaps local community business clubs and entrepreneurship fostering 
organizations? Or something like , whomever hosted that demo at the 
accelerator center last year (had android, symbian, and iphone). 
Richard and Bob and I, at least, attended.

Insurance Squared Inc. wrote, On 01/04/2010 1:01 PM:
> Again, spend a couple of hundred bucks on a lawyer.  They'll have canned 
> agreements they'll tinker with a bit, but this is not unknown 
> technology.  With a contract position like what you're looking at you 
> need to have in place things like clearly defined deliverables, when 
> people get paid, AND who owns rights to the code both at completion and 
> during the process.  All the specifics, and there are a few, aren't 
> things you're likely to dream up.  But your lawyer's probably created 
> the same canned agreement dozens of times.
> 
> 
> Joe Wennechuk wrote:
>> Happy new year all! I have not looked at my email for a week, so I'm 
>> just getting things going now. I guess I didn't put enough info in my 
>> original post. My dilemma is such.
>>  
>> First: This may be a rumour, but I heard that the owner of facebook 
>> was actually hired to write this software for someone else, but when 
>> after a while; he liked it so much, he kept it for himself.
>>  
>> I would like to hire someone to help me write some stuff, as I don't 
>> have all of the necessary skills. I don't want them to pick up my idea 
>> and forget all about me. I would like to approach some web design 
>> shops and show them what I've been working on, but I'm scared that 
>> they will tell me no, then I will see it a month later on the web. Is 
>> there anything that I can do, other than trying to find a reputable 
>> web design firm? I have no experience in business, and I tend to be 
>> too trusting in most cases.