Business plan confidentiality issues
Business plan confidentiality issues
(OP)
Hello,
I do have a question on subject topic, your help is appreciated.
I prepared a business plan to start my own business. Its a ~30 pages document which explains my business idea, the operational/sales aspects etc.
I am required to share this plan with facilitators/incubators because I must clear some paperwork.
It is part of administrative procedure to have the incubator give a positive advice on my plan so I can move on.
The problem is that I worry that my idea would be stolen and that confidentiality is not adhered too.
There is no legal protections in place and asking sponsors to sign NDA agreements would be tricky.
Any suggestions?
What would you do: Would you share your plan with them or would you take calculated risks and how would you do this?
Thanks in advance.
I do have a question on subject topic, your help is appreciated.
I prepared a business plan to start my own business. Its a ~30 pages document which explains my business idea, the operational/sales aspects etc.
I am required to share this plan with facilitators/incubators because I must clear some paperwork.
It is part of administrative procedure to have the incubator give a positive advice on my plan so I can move on.
The problem is that I worry that my idea would be stolen and that confidentiality is not adhered too.
There is no legal protections in place and asking sponsors to sign NDA agreements would be tricky.
Any suggestions?
What would you do: Would you share your plan with them or would you take calculated risks and how would you do this?
Thanks in advance.





RE: Business plan confidentiality issues
RE: Business plan confidentiality issues
It does not have to be the most prominent visual element; it only has to be readable.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Business plan confidentiality issues
RE: Business plan confidentiality issues
I like the idea of Mike, I think that's what I will stay with - plus accepting the risk as a necessary evil.
Ron, most likely they cannot implement it themselves, but if the plan ends up on the street it is not very nice.
RE: Business plan confidentiality issues
Best of luck!!
Roland Heilmann
Lpz FRG
RE: Business plan confidentiality issues
RE: Business plan confidentiality issues
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers Entire Forum list http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm
RE: Business plan confidentiality issues
RE: Business plan confidentiality issues
Also, don't begin every sentence with an "I" or a "the". Sorry, recovering grammar nazi here.
It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.
RE: Business plan confidentiality issues
Some info you could read here
https://www.michalsons.com/blog/is-nda-worth-the-p...
I will never go through the pain of enforcing an NDA at court. Its going to be extremely hard to prove the other party has leaked information about the business.
You seem to like paperwork for the sake of it.
RE: Business plan confidentiality issues
"The problem is that I worry that my idea would be stolen and that confidentiality is not adhered too."
Well, you seem to be worried enough about the obvious to mention it, but not enough to do anything about it. Of course it's your choice to either do nothing or something. To have nothing at all is indefensible. If somebody wants your idea, all they have to do is to effortlessly take it from you, without any fear of recourse.
You don't necessarily have to be willing to go through the pains of defending an NDA, but it's akin to having a "Beware of Dog" sign in your yard to prevent a burglary. A crook will simply have one additional obstacle to consider before making a move against you and your enterprise. It's free insurance. It's something.
If you think your sponsors would be offended or think it's unusual, perhaps you should look to more professional investors. Desperation for funding and accepting "stupid money" can sink a ship just as quickly as no IP protection. Critical thinking.
If you have an idea that you feel good enough to bring to market, consult an attorney. It's been said a thousand times on Eng-Tips, the advice you receive here is worth every penny that you have paid for it. Best luck on the project.
It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.
RE: Business plan confidentiality issues
Did YOU read the article at all?
Did you even notice the author put "It is best to have an NDA in place" in a takeaway box?
If your information is supposedly THAT important to you, then what possible reason do you have for NOT protecting it to the maximum extent reasonable?
> Locked PDFs only for soft distribution
> All proprietary information marked as such with both footers and watermarks
> NDA in place
The only safe secret is one that you tell no one at all. Even your bestie works with other people, and how many people really know what kind of person their besties are when the chips are down? A former company withdrew from a huge RFP because some idiot from another company left their proprietary documents on a table, and one of our idiots decided to take a long peek inside before turning in the document, AND, he admitted to opening the document. Their manager was very ethical and reported the entire matter.
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers Entire Forum list http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm
RE: Business plan confidentiality issues
In my case, as an entity that is even not formed yet - there are more downside than upside and it complicates the process.
RE: Business plan confidentiality issues
quote/ If you think your sponsors would be offended or think it's unusual, perhaps you should look to more professional investors. Desperation for funding and accepting "stupid money" can sink a ship just as quickly as no IP protection. Critical thinking. /unquote``
I am 100% on personal funding. The "sponsor" are needed to give their blessing only because of work regulations.
That's why I used the words facilitator/incubators...
Don't assume, ask.
RE: Business plan confidentiality issues
It just seems silly to ignore something that at least provides a minimal level of protection. You must not think that your "secret" is that big a deal.
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers Entire Forum list http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm
RE: Business plan confidentiality issues
It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.
RE: Business plan confidentiality issues
If it will not fly with this sponsor, and I would have to deal with another sponsor, I will think about the NDA.
Sorry if I appeared to have preconception ideas. Thanks for your help and guidance.
RE: Business plan confidentiality issues
Keep in mind, I am not located in the US. When I first heard that based on local regulations/laws,"people like me" need to go through an assessment via a system of facilitators, (assessment means: sharing business plans, making presentation in front of panel, etc.), before you can proceed any further, I was a bit puzzled. This sounds like a trading system where the commodity is the "idea"...in exchange of the precious "laissez-passer". Overall, you can get upside or downside, the system will only get the upside. That's why I wanted not to be naïve about all this. These are very general statement f curse but I think its good to digress and put in perspective the big picture. Possibly the only protection which is of real value is registration via patent/intellectual property. I trust my idea to have an original character, means enough to create value (cash), but I don't see an underlying technical concept that would be a novelty such that I could go via the patent/IP route. Your comment are valuable. Thanks.
RE: Business plan confidentiality issues
It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.
RE: Business plan confidentiality issues
RE: Business plan confidentiality issues
I would think that the minimum that you should consider at this stage of your business cycle is;
1) Have anyone that gets to see your business plan, or any proprietary information, needs to sign an NDA. [This is never an option, and I wouldn't deal with anyone who balks at signing an NDA.]
2) Copyright everything that can be copyrighted
3) Trademark anything that can be trademarked
4) Get your patents in the queue (if applicable)
GG
ps I have just started up a software company, and I have followed up on items 1 thru 3 above (item 4 is not applicable in my situation).
pps I discovered, that some years after I left an employer, that my bosses (a CEO & VP) have filed for patents (in their names) for stuff that I had developed during my employment with that company. What a bunch of sleez-bags. The moral of this story is 'don't trust anyone'.
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931)
RE: Business plan confidentiality issues
Thanks for your insight.
Would you request an NDA, if you send your business plan to a government entity as part of an online application process ?
For example this can be for review by the administration before a work authorization can be granted on a particular segment of activity.
In general the government administration will send the business plan to a competent economic agency to ask for advise/recommendation (e.g. chamber of commerce or similar institution).
In an alternative route, its more obvious how to put this in place, because the option involves that you can contact an accredited facilitator upfront who will issue a positive advice before you apply for paperwork to administration. Still the business plan is attached to application to the government - that will happen in any case.
RE: Business plan confidentiality issues
I would like to think that a government entity would not have to sign an NDA, after all, "if you can't trust the government then who can you trust?".
I would also suspect that no government employee would be willing to sign an NDA. (ie They tend to shy away from taking responsibility. Who can blame them; what's in it for them?).
Good luck on your endeavor.
Cheers,
GG
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931)
RE: Business plan confidentiality issues
I've had a "government entity" person patent an idea that we presented to them under proprietary data protection, and it was only by chance that I stumbled across the patent.
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers Entire Forum list http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm
RE: Business plan confidentiality issues