I Want To Sell/License An Idea to Apollo

Good day,


I have an idea that I want to sell or license to one of Apollo’s subsidiaries, but I don’t have the funds for a patent and the tech is beyond my knowledge. 
 

There currently exist several companies and technologies that could help myself and/or Apollo achieve said idea.


I’m looking for insight into how I could sell/license to them. Options that I see-

  1. Simply tell Apollo my idea without protection on my end and ask them for compensation if they implement. I know this is a bad play for me. I’ve heard big companies will not sign NDA’s for ideas; and if they like the idea, they can essentially just take it without compensation to the creator.

  2. Find ways to fund a patent. I could partner with technologically savvy people on a contingency basis to help me write a patent and pitch to Apollo.

  3. I could somehow work with the companies that already have the tech that will make my idea possible. Maybe see if they will sign NDA’s and allow me to work with them in bringing the idea to Apollo and we share in profit.

  4. Learn how to do everything myself. 

  5. Make more money elsewhere to hire people to help me.

  6. Miraculously work with Apollo or their subsidiary on bringing the idea to market.


Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

He's got this sick private island for throwing parties and can offer them some solid tax advice. 

"The obedient always think of themselves as virtuous rather than cowardly" - Robert A. Wilson | "If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 

Is it solely for Apollo? I wouldn't put too much weight into any one company, especially a big stodgy one that does not typically do such small investments. They are just simply not going to meet with you unless you have a real company and contacts. Apollo is not an early-stage VC firm, they do not give money for ideas. They are really only willing to partner with/buy out true companies.

If you think your idea is truly revolutionary, go talk to the companies that are already doing something and see if they'll partner with you. Beware though, a simple idea is really not worth that much, especially in this funding environment. If you actually want to scale this, have people take you seriously etc, you will need to grow it yourself and show there's a real market. APO is not just coming swooping in until you have a lot of revenue.

Array
 

Thank you for your reply.
 

It’s for one of their subsidiaries which is THE leader of a specific tech.

Now, I could modify their tech with the implementation of my idea and win over their market share, but it would take an immense amount of capital to scale to the size they are already at, though I’m certain they would either buy me out before I got that far or try to circumnavigate me with an implementation of their own design of my idea that doesn’t infringe on me. I would have to have air tight IP and major funding in order to play that kind of ball.

Though it’s also possible to position myself where it would be better for Apollo to buy me out rather than compete, by dazzling the world with my brand through marketing. Their subsidiary doesn’t really do any marketing, and they also don’t have the ability to “possibly” make common people wealthy.

(Edit in reply to your part where you say they wouldn’t meet with me unless: I get that, but this idea can literally multiply their bottom line by whole digits (plural) even while sharing the wealth to people who use the product, even more so, possibly by a factor of 10 or more if they don’t share.)

I have a cool new business model for creating a multinational conglomerate to solve a lot of world problems and create other businesses like the one above. I need to start speaking to VC’s and consultants.

I was going to apply for YCombinator, but they want too much equity for such a small investment.

 
HisMajesty

Thank you for your reply.
 

It's for one of their subsidiaries which is THE leader of a specific tech.

Now, I could modify their tech with the implementation of my idea and win over their market share, but it would take an immense amount of capital to scale to the size they are already at, though I'm certain they would either buy me out before I got that far or try to circumnavigate me with an implementation of their own design of my idea that doesn't infringe on me. I would have to have air tight IP and major funding in order to play that kind of ball.

Though it's also possible to position myself where it would be better for Apollo to buy me out rather than compete, by dazzling the world with my brand through marketing. Their subsidiary doesn't really do any marketing, and they also don't have the ability to "possibly" make common people wealthy.

(Edit in reply to your part where you say they wouldn't meet with me unless: I get that, but this idea can literally multiply their bottom line by whole digits (plural) even while sharing the wealth to people who use the product, even more so, possibly by a factor of 10 or more if they don't share.)

I have a cool new business model for creating a multinational conglomerate to solve a lot of world problems and create other businesses like the one above. I need to start speaking to VC's and consultants.

I was going to apply for YCombinator, but they want too much equity for such a small investment.

Huh. YC is awesome for entrepreneurs. There isn’t a better program out there or even one within 40% of what YC offers…

-Their valuations are above market

-Companies that go through YC pick up a $$$ premium for their Series

-The network is amazing 

 

I would wager that you’re right, and I love that there are such companies/opportunities in the world, but I truly believe that I would be giving up way too much equity in the beginning for my major goal/business. Maybe it’s possible to go with them on one of my smaller business ideas, grow, and then create the parent company of the smaller that YC helped with.

I do know that I would learn and benefit greatly with them, I just always think- Why not go as big as possible straight from the beginning? It’s going to take the same amount of energy.. Though on the other hand, I do need to learn a great deal, and being around people who are willing to help me in the early stages will be priceless.

Thank you for taking the time to speak with me.

 

YCombinator is your best bet - decent equity but they have very legitimate connections. Apollo is simply not going to listen to any pitch even one that supposedly multiplies their profit by multiple digits, it's just not realistic and not a good use of their time. You are looking for seed capital and they are not in that business.

Any seed VC or startup capital is going to want significant equity because 90% of their businesses will go under, so they obviously have to do well on the 10%. 

Array
 

YC is incredible. If you're going to go the venture route as a first-time founder I can't imagine a better starting point aside from having Sequoia/Benchmark/Accel lead your Series A. 

"The obedient always think of themselves as virtuous rather than cowardly" - Robert A. Wilson | "If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 

You can't sell, patent or license an idea

You can only sell, patent or license the EXECUTION of some idea 

 

Like others have said, ideas in their own right are not worth very much. If you truly believe in your idea, you should become an entrepreneur and try to action it. If you don't feel you have the ability or risk tolerance to action on your own, you can go work for a corporate in that industry and you'll get a salary to think of ideas. 

 
Most Helpful

It sounds like you are trying to take quite a few steps up the VC ladder but this is a classic case of "crawl before you walk before you run"

If you just have an idea, that's not worth much to most VCs. What you really need is some sort of prototype or proof-of-concept. That should put you on your way towards a patent that you should fund (not apollo). 

So, how do you get there? For the stage you're at, you don't need a VC, you need an angel investor instead. Find someone that will sign an NDA and then get the funding to get yourself a programmer/administrator/writer, whatever it is your idea requires and get yourself a prototype and a patent without giving up too much equity. It's at that point that you'll be in a better stage to talk to other people about it (maybe apollo, but most likely other firms). I mean, hey, if you can't sell a single idea to an angel investor then you're probably not ready to pitch apollo, right? You can find angel investors through web sites or, if you live in a large city, there may be an angel investor network you can use to find someone. 

 

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