Looking for your thoughts on when to seek partners.

I have been working on a silly achievement game. I think it could have a decent run. It is luck based, but oddly addictive. I have a decent domain name for it, and I have numerous ideas on how to keep building on it and make it more valuable. I could see it being converted very quickly to a FB game and an iPhone game.
My goal has been to create a small partner network to promote it amongst ourselves. I also believe I have figured out a novel way for myself and my partners to make some money off of it 100% legit.

I am pretty close to being ready to launch, all that is left is to put the paint on. The code works, I have done security testing on it.

In the non-virtual world, I would wait until it looked real good, but that is due to normally I am working with people who do not get the web in the non-virtual world. The suits are sold by the glitter. In the digital point/virtual company world, I am assuming most are pretty savvy and may not care about how it looks?

So my question is should I start looking for partners, hoping one of them may be a better designer than I am? I am pretty good with graphics and css, but it isn't my passion. I am brushing up on more extreme css, sine I think this game needs to look real good to be a good success. I am assuming each partner will pay a small partnership fee, limited to 5 or 10 people. That fee could buy a nice template, but I wanted that money to pay for the second phase of the game. That would allow each of us to resell the old script to recoup our money and make some profit.
The other positive would be getting the partners involved now would help drive me to get it done quicker. I would also hope if I chose the right partners the new ideas would maybe help me take it to places I have not even thought of.

What are your thoughts?

 

No you shouldn't.
Why you want to split the earning to other people?

For the design part,i would suggest you hire people to design for you and it not cost a lot.

 

I felt the partners would bring additional items to the table to help it grow larger at a better speed, plus bring skills I may be lacking.

One example, I have a few gaming sites, highest with a PR1 right now. They may have some sites with a higher PR or more visitors. Those backlinks are worth money I woudl have to spend to get otherwise and that may be a significant investment.
Most companies at some point have to seek outside help to meet growth goals, so I do not mind sharing money. the goal woudl be to make enough so all are happy.
Since the game is luck based with achievements used to keep them trying to get a higher score, the second phase would allow the different servers to compete against one another. Hopefully making the game enjoyable for a longer period of time.
So teh question isn't so much should I look for partners. I have decided that I will need to seek them at some point, to hit my overall goals and to make it more enjoyable. It is when shoudl I seek partners, and have opthers found that partners can be found when you have a vision and a skeleton product, or in the virtual marletplace are the potential partners savy enough to see the vision in spite of current packaging.

 

Cyberpope,

A partner can bring a lot more woe that answers, AND it can be the answer you have been looking for. There is certainly no easy answer. I would tend to agree with mentos for the MOST part...the fact is, you really only need a partner when you CAN'T go it alone. Outsourcing may help you get to the next level and help you attract the interest you need for a SERIOUS partner...the name of the game is MARKETING AND SALES...partnering with a developer can be a recipe for disaster...it is tough to find the perfect combination of a developer/designer with the entrepreneurial mindset needed to make your project really FLY...

Good luck!

Mac the Knife

 

Very wise. That's not to say you should have a partner just for the sake of it, or have too many, but if you can both contribute two can be FAR more productive than one. Almost all great ventures I've studied were built from the power of two or more people collaborating and adding to each other's strengths. It's very open minded of you and humble to admit someone else can add to your business. Get this game rolling, then use the partnership to brainstorm and build more. It's better to own 50% of 10 ideas than 100% of 1 or 2.

As for when you should team up, I'd say when you hit that point that you can't easily sub out the work and keep your momentum by yourself...

 

i say no, why would u want split your earnings with someone, but unless they pulled over their earning and deserve half of the earningg

 

Plus with my propsed model, we woudl be building a network, so each woudl still get their own earnings. In having more people promoting and cross promoting the game, each owning their own server, they woudl monitize it on their end and we woudl all keep our money. The game becomes funner longer, because you are not just competign to get the high score on one server, but the 5-10 server network. Each with their own server, domain, adsnes account. My sites and promotions woudl be also promoting their with backlinks. If someone had a hard time getting the top score on my machine, they could try the other persons server.
On this that saddens me is it seems many here are about not partnering because theu want to keep it all.
If the partners at Goggle, FB, Microsoft, Apple or many others companies felt that way they woudl have nothing. Sometimes you get hosed with a partner. I know I did from two partners I had in the mid 90's when I started an ISP in Cleveland Ohio, and with an old Jobs site, but I have had partnerships that were a blast to be part of.

I do think I will hold off for awhile, until I have it ready with all the bells and whistles.

 

No kidding! They think they'll get ahead, but are actually missing out on the opportunity to exceed their expectations due to greed.

 

Partnerships is a good idea and outsourcing your partner is an easy way to start. Although relationship wise, it's better to look for a partner and outsource the work to whom you really know the most as well as his/her skills to get through business. Also, as you meet opportunities together, it can be a lot easier as you're not evaluating concepts alone now.

 

sometimes we can't do everything alone....