Being a deep-/impact-tech startup in Netherlands we have co-founders but no lead-investor, which we need to complete our investment-round.

Here are some suggestions for protecting your product idea and taking steps to realize it without fear: File a provisional patent application with the USPTO. This establishes an early filing date and allows you to further develop the idea for a year before deciding on a regular patent. Conduct a prior art search to ensure your idea is truly novel and non-obvious. Document any prior art you find for future reference. Mark all development documents, drawings, prototypes, etc. with clear copyright and do not publicly disclose details until protections are in place. Incorporate as an LLC or similar entity. This provides liability protection as you work to commercialize. Start small, build an MVP, get early customer feedback, and validate assumptions before going all in. De-risk as much as possible. Consider bringing on an experienced co-founder or advisor you trust for guidance and support. Apply to startup accelerators or incubators. The structure and funding can help propel ideas forward. Look for grants and other non-dilutive funding sources if possible in the early stages. Don't share too widely until you are ready to partner or license. Sign NDAs with any potential partners or investors. The key is establishing ownership, validating demand, de-risking, and then scaling incrementally with the right support. Patents, entity protection, and early customer feedback can help build confidence to pursue the idea further.

Congratulations on the opportunity...! I've seen situations like this from the other side, working for a big ERP vendor. To try to answer your questions out of order: How to structure? Based on the info provided, the simplest thing would actually be no specific arrangement at all. Lots of ERP add-ons are sold to ERP customers without being "contracted" by the vendor. However, if they want to work with you directly then a contract (not a joint venture or anything else) is the best place to start. A contract ensures all factors are on the table such as your investment to provide the integrated product, and so on. Is the arrangement month-to-month or for several years? Is there any guaranteed volume, or is it just "best efforts". And so on. What's realistic? Again, for two companies that don't really know each other and with a size differential, you're unlikely to get anything you'll like other than a contract. The exception is if they see you as extremely strategic to their future, in which case you might swing an acquisition -- if you actually want to lose control in exchange for equity in their company. What key factors? It's hard to say without knowing more. I'd say stick to a simple contract unless an outright acquisition is likely. Make sure you don't put too much in up front without a reasonable guarantee of return; a bigger company can easily change direction six months from now and leave you hanging. As soon as you have one customer in common, you'll be stuck to this other company for years, so play fair! If they are not good partners, consider walking away. ERP has a very long lifespan. I'm not sure what you feel you might lose control over (you think they might copy your product?) but if you negotiate a reasonable contract, you shouldn't have too much exposure. Hopefully this is useful; there are a lot of issues that will be specific to your exact situation.

Why not allow employees to put forward innovative suggestions that would benefit the company? Employees who suggest the most innovative ideas to save the company money or offer a more efficient way of working could receive incentives. For a limited time I’m offering free advice for 20mins. VIP link: https://clarity.fm/robstephens/scale323 Rob Stephens robstephens.com

There are still countless opportunities! We live in an exciting era. As humans, we still want to connect and share our experiences, meet new people, and deepen our relationship with those already in our circles. We must balance our privacy (which is unique to both users and publishers), as well as our desire to be accepted and approved of. Marketing will continue to become more personal. Brands must adapt a scalable 1:1 marketing strategy and consumers' needs will continue to evolve. These are real human needs and, as a result, creates limitless opportunities for technology and online marketing to connect.

Everyone likes innovation and will rah-rah for it until it gores their ox. The misalignment of incentives and innovation is always the biggest problem. Technology challenges can always be beaten into submission. Real innovation is by definition upsetting to the status quo, and it takes intestinal fortitude on the part of the leadership (not management, _leadership_) to face the incentive issue and get the org properly aligned around change.