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Proof that every problem is a potential opportunity

Over the weekend I ended up talking to quite a few people, most of who are quite intelligent and well-educated with a good understanding of technology. Most of these people are also self-employed, running successful businesses, so they know a thing or two about the key ingredients required to turn a good idea into a profitable enterprise.

One thing that became very obvious during the course of several conversations is the need for some kind of communications infrastructure that might allow like-minded (and those with contrasting views) to stay in touch, exchange ideas and work together to explore opportunities.

As I know from a lifetime of experience, a million-dollar idea is simply the collision of a problem with a solution and it is also very apparent that a successful enterprise based on such ideas also involves some collisions

This leaves me wondering if it's time to set up some kind of website or mailing list that can be used by "ideas people", (would-be) venture capitalists, and entrepreneurs in a way that might facilitate the synergistic collisions necessary to create a successful enterprise.

Given that we seem to have no shortage of smart Kiwis with ideas that they think could be world-class winners, what's needed is a place where these people can showcase their concepts and pitch for support from those with the fat wallets and entrepreneurial skills needed to commercialise them.

Of course, being an entrepreneur myself, I can also see the potential for such a service to make a good profit in the process.

I strongly suspect that any place where VCs (both local and international) could peruse a list of clever concepts and good ideas looking for funding would attract significant interest from those with some "risk dollars" burning a hole in their big fat wallets.

Of course there is the issue of protecting those ideas when placed on such a public podium -- that's something which would require very careful consideration. Patents may provide adequate protection in some cases but otherwise it may require the "ideas guy" to be very careful about the level of disclosure made at the public level.

How would such a site make money?

Well for a start, you could levy a small charge on all parties for access -- although I tend to think that could sink it before it even ran down the launch-ramp.

Perhaps a better way would be to market essential support services to the parties who might find this hang-out a worthwhile place to visit on a regular basis.

Patent lawyers, lending institutions, marketing companies and a raft of others would doubtless find this a very hi-value place in which to pitch their services and the ad-rates could be set accordingly.

Those specialising in law might also choose to make some boilerplate contracts available for paid-download through the site and even offer online legal consulting on a paid "per-consult" basis, with the site taking a commission.

There may also be some merit in the site instead opting for a tiny stake-holding in every launched struck as a result of connections made through it. Having 1% of a company that ends up being worth tens or hundreds of millions can be a very effective way to earn revenue.

So you see, even the task of facilitating the creation of new hi-tech businesses represents a brilliant entrepreneurial opportunity in itself.

I don't think I have anything like enough time to create a site like this but I'm interested to hear what readers think.

No doubt it's already been done (I didn't search hard before writing this column) but could it be done better and in a way that is Kiwi-centric?

Might this be just what our "ideas guys", venture capitalists and entrepreneurs need to help NZ on the long and windy road to a hi-tech KBE future?

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