Concept overviews..

[Bell Ringer]

Hey guys

I have a group that has multiple locations and concepts that is offering to take a look at my overviews for one of my concepts. I am looking for opinions on how much to divulge, what to divulge and how to do it. My previous two partners (or interested investors) were friends of mine so it was not a formal presentation. What do you think? Show theme, menu, uniform and design details? More details? Less details?

It is a shot in the dark but I am thankful for their willingness to entertain the idea. It would be for consideration of partenring in thier local location which is a great spot. Things that concern me though is that I like kitchens to be present and they used to have one but no longer do. I suppose it depends on the value they see in the concept as to if they would want to remodel.

Hit me with some insight guys.
~B

[scott1988]

You're in a pickle on this one bud.

I was in your shoes too and I'll give you my opinions/experiences and you can take them however you want.

First, if you have enough money, go talk to an attorney and see what type(s) of legal documents you can have drawn up (if any) that would hold up in court if your ideas get "stolen" (which is essentially what you're talking about here).

Unfortunately, this sounds very similar to what is generally referred to as a "no compete" clause or agreement when going to work for a business that is concerned about losing its valuable information/employee to a competitor. Where I'm from, I've actually signed a few of these but every single person I talk to says that they are basically a bunch of crap and just a scare tactic to use against people to "hopefully" prevent them from taking business from the current business owner. They also say that they've talked to attorneys themselves and they've stated that they don't hold up in court and they've never heard of anyone being taken to court over them and winning. At least around here anyway. And I myself haven't acutally heard of anyone doing such a thing either so who knows?

So if that's the case, what's the point of signing them or having them drawn up? Scare tactic. Here's the way I see it (although in court it may be perceived differently). If I have a particular talent, skill, or personality and I can take that with me to another job or start my own, I'm going to do so. I'm not going to let anyone prevent me from doing what I enjoy or am good at because of me and not them. Especially if if makes me good money. The problem is that the arguing company is going to try to say that "they" were the ones that taught you/me those particular skills and as a result sort of "own" them. Well that's fine in some cases Ithe ones where they actually sent you to class, school, or a seminar for a "particular" skill) but in cases where most of my job performance has to do with my personality, enthusiasm, hard work, focus, and attention, I don't think I owe anyone else crap. As far as I'm concerned, I taught myself how to be good at what I do/did in "almost" ALL cases (not all....but most). But enough about me and my perception of a "no-compete" clause/agreement. Again, it doesn't matter what I "think" because a judge/jury may see it differently and rule against me. (Hopefully I'll never have to worry about that)

But back to this situation. I thought about, and wanted to have, some sort of documentation and/or agreement drawn up that would basically state that any ideas, details, drawings, financial statements, information and blah, blah, blah and so on that were discussed would stay within the confines of me and the person(s) I was discussing them with and in no way shape or form verbal, written, or discussed would they be able to use them for any gain on their own or with anyone else without my express, sane, and legal written consent. Basically, it meant that if I had an idea for a 1000 person nightclub that was super high end in a small town full of small pubs and country bars and not 1 nightclub, nobody that I talked to (or anyone they talked to about the project for that matter) could open one. If they did, then I would be able to take them to court for "copyright" infringement or something similar. I don't know the exact terms but basically you couldn't "steal" someone else's idea and go and do it. That way, your ideas are protected. I'm sure this is what you're talking about.

But, I think most "potential" investors/partners would be put off by this. I personally wouldn't myself (because I know the reasoning behind the documents and respect other people's ideas) but many may feel that it shows a lack of trust right from the start and as a result, they may not want to even consider doing business with you if you/they can't trust each other. Does this make sense?

So I don't have a good answer for you. I guess if you think it's worth it, have a brief one page document drawn up and see if the people you talk to will sign it. If they do, great. If not, then maybe you'll just have to pray that nobody tries to take advantage of your thoughts or ideas. Good luck.

[clubdesign]

one of the things to look out for is when they ask for copies of your drawings and images. Your numbers are usually just best guesses and most industry professionals will know by looking at them if they are feasible.
We have people that come to us all the time looking for ideas and ask us to send them some and then never hear from them again but find design elements unique to our renderings showing up in the spaces they own.
Before they got copies of these sign an agreement otherwise just let them look but not keep copies. Yes some will still steal your ideas but that is a risk you take when looking for partners and funding, Good Luck