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I have a very good idea for a website... but I don't have the capital to really get it going. Does anyone know any good, and TRUSTWORTHY investors that wont screw me around and end up owning half of my company? My site has the potential of becoming as big as craigslist. There's no way I can explain to you, without giving up my idea, why I feel my idea is huge. Please work with me and pretend like I just came up with craigslist and tell me what you think...I know, it's a stretch.

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Can I ask you at least... what's, roughly, the investment you need? – Filippo Diotalevi Jan 1 '11 at 21:06
I've kind of backed off of using any investors until, like JoshSamBob said, I get the site built. At the moment I have someone who's building the website for me. Unfortunately, the person building it keeps having one crises after another, which continually delays the building of my site:( – TLSlaughter Jan 4 '11 at 2:34

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up vote 5 down vote

Most "good, trustworthy investors" don't invest in ideas; they invest in teams and/or traction.

If this idea is as good as you think it is, go find a partner who can build it while you market the heck out of it. Get 10,000, 50,000, or even 100,000 users first, and then think about raising money.

If you do find an investor who will put money into a first-time founder with just a "brilliant idea," they're either crazy, untrustworthy, or very likely to want 50% or more of the company. But I have trouble imagining a scenario in which someone who has never before founded a startup gets funding for "the next Craigslist" without having built any piece of it first.

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Thanks for the info., and I do agree with you on all points. I have a partner who signed a contract to build the site for 20% ownership in it. She builds websites professionally and fell inlove with the idea. So she's willing to work for minimal cost, just what she needs to build it, to get this site off of the ground. Unfortunately... she keeps having one life problem after another pop up and hasn't even started on the website. I sympathize with her, but the longer she delays the bigger the chances are that someone else will come up with this idea. Do you have any ideas in this regard? – TLSlaughter Jan 4 '11 at 3:14
up vote 1 down vote

"Ideas" don't get funded by those who can't afford to fund them.

Generally speaking, if you have a good idea (and nothing more) you MUST have a top-notch team, track record of success and a solid network...

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Oookaay...so how does someone who's working on a limited (severly limited) income, build a start-up website. Not everyone is blessed with lots of money. Like how about those living on disability. Should they forget about even trying to improve their life by building something that can change it. – TLSlaughter Jan 4 '11 at 3:24
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you could look into grants or microloans for startups if you are in the US. Then build it on a cloud platform so it scales and do it all under a corporate name(cost to incorporate about $200 with legalzoom). Then if it doesn't take off, the company just dies and you have no credit problem.

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Are you suggesting to let a company buy services without intention to pay for them? "the company just dies and you have no credit problem" -- so they company goes bankrupt with unpaid debt? – Jesper Mortensen♦ Jan 1 '11 at 11:37
I am suggesting starting on a shoestring with the intention of paying predicated on sales...do the math on what it would take to be up for a year. Pay that up front and if it doesn't work after a year, it wont work....does that clarify what I intended to say? – Call me V Jan 1 '11 at 16:35
In addition, company bankrupty proceedings are well documented. Even if there is unpaid debt, it is agreed upon (per social contract) in how far payment outside an LLC is needed. – NetTecture Jan 1 '11 at 17:19
Thank you for the input. What's the average cost of running craigslist for one year, and only focusing on one state. I'm not trying to go national, or even state wide, yet. – TLSlaughter Jan 4 '11 at 3:31

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