4 ms·
Ask HN: World changing green business idea. Now what?
I do not have the funds or resources to develop this invention. It's a Green idea that could be quite profitable. The technology to make it work exists and is cheap. Here are my questions:
Should I publish the idea on my blog? Try to contact a company who would be interested? Try to patent the idea? Thanks for any advice.
- MikeCapone 16y agoIt's up to you to decide, and that depends on your motivations. But if you don't think you'll be able to make it happen and still want to make the world a better place, probably best to share your idea.
- DotSauce 16y agoI want to retain credit for the idea. Will a detailed blog post act as copyright of the idea?
- zmmz 16y agoIf you aren't aiming for profit, want the recognition and want to make the world a better place then perhaps you could patent it and distribute as an open patent? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_patent http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_patent
- Scott_MacGregor 16y agoPatenting seems smart, but if the Green idea relies on government funding or mandates (laws) in any way to achieve profitability or sustainability you should be careful. As soon as the other side of the political spectrum takes over, the Green stuff might get unwound. It is a political target for both sides, meaning a lot of unpredictable risk. One side is pushing it on people who do not want it and the other side doesn’t want that. There will still be a target market for certain Green things no matter who is in control though, because there is an identifiable subset of consumers who value it enough to pay for it.
- pedalpete 16y agoIf the invention is patentable, I'd suggest starting with a provisional patent http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provisional_application http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provisional_application then, you can start openly discussing the invention either with investors or companies while you work through the full patent process. If the invention is not patentable, then I'd say write about it, contact companies or people who might be interested. If you want to be involved in the project long-term, make sure they are aware of that, and maybe they'll hire you on if you've got the requisite skill. As a green initiative which 'might' be profitable, don't ignore grants or philanthropic groups which may be interested in funding or introducing you to people who might be able to help. In general, find a way to protect your idea, and then get out there and talk about it.
- DaniFong 16y agoI would be interested in discussing it with you, potentially to help you find funding/whatever, if you're comfortable. dani.fong@gmail.com if you're interested.