- Joined
- Feb 15, 2019
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My intro: INTRO - What the deal is
The Beginning
Months 1-10
During the first 10 months of my business I completed the following:
Set up an S Corp
This was a great idea (I had never though of it until reading TMF ). I had been doing side work for my dad, as I mentioned in my intro, and had been getting screwed by the self employment tax for the longest time.
Domain research
I had no clue about this industry prior to starting this project. Fortunately, I had access to industry expertise to get me started. Between asking the right questions to my dad's contact and a lot of internet searching I was able to gain a solid understanding of what I would need to do to develop a product that would solve the problem I was working on. Despite learning enough to get started, I still had a lot to learn.
Software design
I have done this so many times it is routine. I created a list of features and storied them out. I then selected the additional technologies I was going to use to. I always use the same web technologies, so the payment processor integration took the bulk of that time. I actually started using one and then ended up going with another integration prior to launch. I'm glad I did.
Branding
It didn't take me a long time to come up with a name for my product. It actually came to me immediately. It ended up being very search friendly, which might result in being found in a happy accident type of scenario.
I did some research and found a logo company with some examples that I liked. I hired them and got my logo in a couple weeks (after quite a few revisions). The total cost of that was $399. I'm not sure I would use them again. The majority of the alternate designs were not that great. Fortunately for me, one was kind of what I was looking for. I ended up buying Illustrator and making some modifications to it myself. I am pretty happy with what I have now. Going through the logo process helped me develop a matching color scheme. I use an online tool called coolors for this. Sure there are a number of tools like this, but I like coolors.
Trademark
I had a credit on my account with LegalZoom so I used them to submit a trademark application for my product name. I think it ended up costing about $300 with the credit. In hindsight I should have probably spent a little more and went with a trademark attorney, but I didn't know better. Now I do. Essentially I did not have a problem with LegalZoom. They correctly submitted my application, but they didn't really discuss with me what I was in for.
For everyone's edification here are some things I learned:
1. If your trademark is too descriptive...you will have problems. Mine was very descriptive, hence I received office actions. Things have evolved in the trademark world as time has passed. Think American Airlines. This is the epitome of descriptive. It is indeed a trademark on the principal register, however, if they had applied for a trademark for it today it would not fly (haha see what I did there).
2. There are TWO registers. Principal and supplemental. Think of principal as varsity and supplemental as junior varsity. Obviously you want to get on the principal register. It offers the most protection. The supplemental register also offers protection, but not as much. When someone does a trademark search on USPTO all trademarks look equal unless you dig a little deeper. If you get on the supplemental register it is not the end of the world. You can in time petition to promote your trademark to the principal register by proving that your trademark is recognizable in your industry. This is how you can get a descriptive trademark published and on the principal register (eventually). I am not a trademark expert, so for more information Google is your friend.
I was actually surprised to get an office action several months after my application was submitted. My trademark was not registered, and therefore I thought it would sail through. See descriptive above. I did not have money to pay an attorney to deal with the office actions, so I put on my trademark attorney hat and did it myself. I got rejected twice. Basically, the first time they wanted clarification on the wording, and the second they said it was descriptive (which my first response proved...doh). I thought I was screwed, but then I did some reading and found out there was another register. I submitted a statement of use and a request to have my application be considered for the supplemental register. It was approved. This took many months to complete, but I started it in the first few months, so that is why I included it here.
The rest of the months were spent coding. Lots of coding.
I did all of this while holding down a 9-5 time trade, being a new parent, and buying a home. Crazy looking back on it. At the end of these ten months I was close to having an MVP. Month 11 is when my time trade ended and I started working full time on the business.
More to come...
The Beginning
Months 1-10
During the first 10 months of my business I completed the following:
Set up an S Corp
This was a great idea (I had never though of it until reading TMF ). I had been doing side work for my dad, as I mentioned in my intro, and had been getting screwed by the self employment tax for the longest time.
Domain research
I had no clue about this industry prior to starting this project. Fortunately, I had access to industry expertise to get me started. Between asking the right questions to my dad's contact and a lot of internet searching I was able to gain a solid understanding of what I would need to do to develop a product that would solve the problem I was working on. Despite learning enough to get started, I still had a lot to learn.
Software design
I have done this so many times it is routine. I created a list of features and storied them out. I then selected the additional technologies I was going to use to. I always use the same web technologies, so the payment processor integration took the bulk of that time. I actually started using one and then ended up going with another integration prior to launch. I'm glad I did.
Branding
It didn't take me a long time to come up with a name for my product. It actually came to me immediately. It ended up being very search friendly, which might result in being found in a happy accident type of scenario.
I did some research and found a logo company with some examples that I liked. I hired them and got my logo in a couple weeks (after quite a few revisions). The total cost of that was $399. I'm not sure I would use them again. The majority of the alternate designs were not that great. Fortunately for me, one was kind of what I was looking for. I ended up buying Illustrator and making some modifications to it myself. I am pretty happy with what I have now. Going through the logo process helped me develop a matching color scheme. I use an online tool called coolors for this. Sure there are a number of tools like this, but I like coolors.
Trademark
I had a credit on my account with LegalZoom so I used them to submit a trademark application for my product name. I think it ended up costing about $300 with the credit. In hindsight I should have probably spent a little more and went with a trademark attorney, but I didn't know better. Now I do. Essentially I did not have a problem with LegalZoom. They correctly submitted my application, but they didn't really discuss with me what I was in for.
For everyone's edification here are some things I learned:
1. If your trademark is too descriptive...you will have problems. Mine was very descriptive, hence I received office actions. Things have evolved in the trademark world as time has passed. Think American Airlines. This is the epitome of descriptive. It is indeed a trademark on the principal register, however, if they had applied for a trademark for it today it would not fly (haha see what I did there).
2. There are TWO registers. Principal and supplemental. Think of principal as varsity and supplemental as junior varsity. Obviously you want to get on the principal register. It offers the most protection. The supplemental register also offers protection, but not as much. When someone does a trademark search on USPTO all trademarks look equal unless you dig a little deeper. If you get on the supplemental register it is not the end of the world. You can in time petition to promote your trademark to the principal register by proving that your trademark is recognizable in your industry. This is how you can get a descriptive trademark published and on the principal register (eventually). I am not a trademark expert, so for more information Google is your friend.
I was actually surprised to get an office action several months after my application was submitted. My trademark was not registered, and therefore I thought it would sail through. See descriptive above. I did not have money to pay an attorney to deal with the office actions, so I put on my trademark attorney hat and did it myself. I got rejected twice. Basically, the first time they wanted clarification on the wording, and the second they said it was descriptive (which my first response proved...doh). I thought I was screwed, but then I did some reading and found out there was another register. I submitted a statement of use and a request to have my application be considered for the supplemental register. It was approved. This took many months to complete, but I started it in the first few months, so that is why I included it here.
The rest of the months were spent coding. Lots of coding.
I did all of this while holding down a 9-5 time trade, being a new parent, and buying a home. Crazy looking back on it. At the end of these ten months I was close to having an MVP. Month 11 is when my time trade ended and I started working full time on the business.
More to come...
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