Summarize the following:
Obtain the necessary patents and trademarks. Ask your team of collaborators, if applicable, to also sign a non-disclosure agreement. A template for a non-disclosure agreement can be found online. You may want to hire an intellectual property attorney to see if your product qualifies for a patent. Visit the U.S. Patent Office website for instructions on how to search for existing patents and how to file for a new one. You can trademark your product by adding a "TM" symbol whenever you use your product name. A registered trademark that prevents others from using your product's name needs to be obtained from the U.S. Patent Office. Write a plan that describes the purpose of your business, product, branding approach, market audience, product competition, and financial needs and plans. This is a strategic plan that will guide you in achieving your goals for the business. You can find more details about how to write a plan here, but you will want to include: Your business concept: The focus here is on describing your business and the market for your products. Market research: Market research is critical, as it describes the nature of the market you are entering into. Identify who your major competitors are, who your target market is, and the preferences and needs of your target market. A marketing plan: This should describe how you plan on addressing the needs of your market, how you will communicate with customers, and how you will advertise your product. An operations plan: This will describe your operations on a day to day basis. It would include, for example, how you plan to develop the product, a timeline, and people and equipment required. A financial plan: This would outline how you will finance your business, what your expected costs are, and projections as to your revenue. This will have implications for how you file taxes and how much you will need to pay. Most small businesses are sole proprietorships that are the easiest to set up and require the least paperwork. If you are considering another legal structure, you may wish to consult a lawyer who specializes in new business start-ups and who can help you pick the structure best for you. Sole proprietorship A sole proprietorship is owned and run by one person, and there is no legal separation between the individual and the business. As a result, all profits, losses, debts and deeds of the business are your responsibility. This option can be attractive for a small business due to its ease of formation, and due to the complete control it provides. Partnership A partnership simply refers to the sharing of ownership between two or more people. Partnerships are formed through the negotiation of an agreement between the partners (assisted by a lawyer usually), and each individual partner is liable for his or her share of profits, losses, or liabilities. This can be attractive if you are choosing to run the business with another person to take advantage of combined skills.Keep in mind that each partner is generally liable for the full debts of the partnership. Partners may have to seek payment from the other partners separately if they do not pay their share of a debt. The amount of liability depends upon the terms of any loans the business takes out. Limited liability company (LLC) To start an LLC, you must, at a minimum, choose a name and file articles of organization with your state, often for a fee. LLC owners pay taxes on their proportion of profits through their individual income tax returns and have to pay self employment tax, but are protected from personal liability for the decisions and actions of the company. Corporation An independent legal entity owned by shareholders. To register your corporation you must choose a company name and file articles of incorporation with your state. You will also need to register with the IRS and get a tax ID. Corporations file taxes separately from their owners. This may prove advantageous, allowing owners to take advantage of the corporate tax rate, but it may also lead to double taxation (which refers to your corporation's income being taxed, followed by your income from the corporation being taxed when the company pays a dividend or makes a distribution). You should speak with your lawyer or accountant to see if this form of business will benefit you. This structure is generally not appropriate for smaller businesses. A DBA (Doing Business As) is needed whenever you are doing business under a name other than your own. Registering a DBA name is typically done through your state government or county clerk's office. You can search the specific requirements of your state online. This process typically only takes a few minutes to complete. This is typically useful for sole proprietorship, since not using a DBA name means that your business name will automatically default to your personal name. Note that a DBA name is also required if you are starting a corporation. Corporations that must file tax returns will need one, as well as partnerships, which don't file taxes, but do have to file business information annually with the IRS. The IRS does not generally require a tax ID number for sole proprietorships (you can use your Social Security number instead). Once you determine the legal structure for your business, research the requirements of your locality for licensing, paying sales tax and income tax, liability insurance and other requirements. Check https://www.sba.gov/content/what-federal-licenses-and-permits-does-your-business-need to see if your business needs any federal permits or licenses, and https://www.sba.gov/content/what-state-licenses-and-permits-does-your-business-need to see if it needs a state permit or license. There are also permits and licenses that may be required by your city or county. The best way to find out if your particular business requires any unique permits is to contact your city, describe your business, and inquire about any requirements. For example, many cities require "Home Occupation Permits", if you plan to operate a business from your home. Consult an accountant or attorney, if necessary. It is important to have liability insurance for a software company in case your software has a bug that ruins your client's computer system. Software development requires time and resources. Make a complete list of the start-up capital you will need to finance your business. Explore venture capital funds. Contact venture capital firms that have previously funded software companies to discuss the possibility of entering into an agreement. Do an online search to find companies that have provided early-stage funding for products similar to yours. Note that you will be giving up equity in your company if you accept venture capital funding. Research grants and loans. Contact your local Small Business Administration office to see if you qualify for an SBA-backed bank loan. Explore the availability of funding from local universities who may be interested in financing start-up companies. Find investors among relatives and friends. Discuss your software product idea with family and friends to explore the possibility of their investment in your business. Consider online funding sources such as the Lending Club and Kickstarter. Equip your development team with computers, programming applications, data storage capability, servers and all of the necessary tools for creating and distributing the software. Find office space to rent using a real estate broker who specializes in commercial real estate. You will need to hire a freelancer to design packaging if this is a product that will be offered on a store shelf. You will also need to hire a company to manufacture the CDs, if applicable. When hiring developers, look for candidates who have the required programming skills and the desire to work in a software start-up environment. Consider offering key employees stock in the company. Advertise on job boards such as Monster.com and Indeed.com. Be very specific about the skills and number of years of experience you are looking for. In addition to knowing the right programming languages, look for those who have experience working on teams to bring a new product to market. Check all references carefully. Ask friends and colleagues in similar types of software industries for recommendations. Allot a reasonable amount of time to the development of your software product. A complicated data management system may take much longer to develop than a simple mobile phone application. Before creating the time line, get input from your development team and outside experts to make sure the time allotted is appropriate for the type of software you are brining to market. You want to beat any other potential competition, but you do not want to offer a product that is full of bugs because it was rushed. Oversee the development process. Facilitate clear communication between you and your development team to ensure that everyone is operating under the same product vision. Hold status meetings weekly to make sure progress is being made according to your timeline.
Protect your product idea. Create a business plan. Determine the legal structure of your business. Register your business name with your state government, if necessary. Determine if you need to get a tax identification number for your business. Become knowledgeable about licensing, taxes and insurance. Raise funds for your software company. Purchase the necessary equipment and applications. Hire developers. Create a development time line for the product.