With $28,000,000 in Appraised assets,What is the best approach- time spent to finding the right partner-resources.Let them find you or seek and find?

So the question is what are your "Plan B" options. Let's assume for a sake of argument you've weighed the options (build your own, buy from an established competitor, partner with this startup) and you've decided that partnering is the best option. One way you could protect yourself in the event this company either shuts down or pivots and no longer supports what you need, you could negotiate to have the code put in an escrow account that has triggers to release the code to you. You of course will be restricted to the usage (e.g. you couldn't take it and compete). I've used escrow agreements in past deals and can discuss the details if your interested. Caveat, I'm not an attorney so can only provide business advice. Good Luck!

There are various methods of idea validation. I am listing the ways that are suitable in your case: 1. Run a Survey: You can ask the customers of the electricity company to fill up the survey form with questions like - whether they will use your service or not? How may they are willing to pay to the extra service/better service and other important questions. This will validate your idea and you can show it to the electricity company as a proof of prospective demand. 2. Expert Opinion: You can approach few experts in the electricity and distribution domain. Ask them to provide their opinion about your idea. If you get a positive feedback then you can show this to the electricity company for your support. 3. Influencing recommendation: You can approach people in Government/Administration who can recommend you for this idea. Take their views in written, this will actually serve as a validation and will also support you in pitching. 4. Competitor analysis: Prepare a competitor analysis report and find out whether such services already exist in the world. If you can find similar services that are successful then you can think the idea is validated. 5. Advisor: You can approach an advisor who can consult you about the idea and will validate through thorough analysis. I am an advisor who have validated more than 500 such ideas. I will be happy to discuss more over a call if you wish. All the best. God bless you.

Can the model be franchised? Are your margins large enough such that a franchisee will be able to make a profit AND pay your franchise fees? If you go down the franchise route, you will be changing the nature of your business from being a gym operator to being a franchisor, or seller of business systems. Do you have your systems perfected to the point where someone will pay for them? Do you have the resources to start supporting the needs of franchisees? What kinds of needs will they have? Coaching, support, etc. They will be expecting innovation in marketing and product delivery from you. Are you prepared to sell off your existing locations as franchises and focus solely on this new business model for yourself? In 2007 I owned a small business with a partner and faced the same question you are now. In the end we decided to sell our operating company and sell the IP within our systems in a 'do it yourself business kit.' It's worked brilliantly because we required no further investment but get a cash flow from the materials. If you'd like an idea of how to format an attractive franchise opportunity. I recommend my recent book Franchise Warnings. Available from Amazon.

Hi, I've worked with start-ups, SMEs and corporates serving both the public and private sectors. I have 25 years of experience managing projects, programs, operations, engineering and technology-driven change and have served in both leadership and advisory roles internationally. Here are some essential things to think about when prioritising ideas: Why do it? | Does it align with vision, goals & values? | is it the most sensible next step (thinking holistically)? | is there something else with a better ROI | what's the opportunity cost (ie what can't be done if you do this)? | does this help remove critical uncertainties ie reduce risk? | is there an associated health, safety or environmental issue | when does it need to be completed? | will this help build momentum and commitment? | what are the dependencies? | can it be properly resourced? | are there clearly defined, measurable success criteria? | does this have the required level of executive support? | how well does it align with other initiatives? | do all key stakeholders agree on the emergent priorities? Feel free to come back to me with questions. Also, if you have a particular context I can get more specific. Cheers, Trevor

I believe that personal passion is the only sustainable way to pursue any idea and / or startup in the medium and longer term. In the short term, there's loads of other things that keep you going: momentum, money, press, great feedback, investor interest, new customers etc. What these things however do is it kickstarts your natural adrenaline making it easy to make progress. Once that adrenaline runs out though and when you reach a low point (of the rollercoaster), you're only left with the things you naturally have. So your own ambition, drive and passion are the things that will help get you out of that low point and kickstart the adrenaline again. And of those things, passion is the greatest motivator to do anything. If you are truly passionate about the idea or startup you are pursuing, I believe that you will do whatever it takes to succeed.