Frequently asked questions

Because an idea kept to yourself has an audience of one. Far too many ideas stay ideas — not because they were bad, but because the person who had it was missing a skill, a partner or a push to begin. Publishing it means the people whose competence it needs can actually find it.

No. Plenty of members join without one. If you would rather lend your competence than lead something yourself, list what you are good at and let the ideas come to you — being the person who makes someone else's idea possible is a perfectly good reason to be here.

One sentence is enough to publish. Write more when you feel like it — everything you post can be edited later, and nothing about an idea is fixed once it is up.

Any stage at all. A note on a napkin, a wish to open a restaurant with someone, a half-finished prototype, or a research project with three years behind it. Early ideas often attract more help than polished ones, because there is more room to contribute.

No, and most are not — which is a good thing. Ideas worth building are usually ordinary ones done by the right people: a salon two friends open together, a tool a team finally gets round to making. Do not let "someone already thought of this" stop you.

You publish two versions at once. The public one is visible to anyone, including people who are not logged in. The private one is only for members you have connected to the idea. You write both, and you can change either whenever you like.

Yes. An idea can be published anonymously, so it is discussed on its own merit. You can attach your name later, once you are comfortable with who is reading.

Please do — the public version of an idea has a link that works for anyone, logged in or not, so share it anywhere it might find the right person. An account is only needed to connect to an idea or take part in the conversation around it.

It puts your idea in front of more members. More of the right eyes on it means a better chance that the person it needs is one of them.

Anyone can ask. You decide who is accepted, and only the people you accept see the private side of the idea. A good habit: connect with the person first and have a conversation, so you know who they are before they get the full picture.

As much as you and the people you build with agree on. Most ideas here are developed in evenings and weekends alongside a day job. There is no minimum and nobody is measuring — spend the time that stays enjoyable.

You can post up to three ideas per day, which is more than almost anyone needs. There is no limit on how many you join, though joining twenty tends to say more about you than about the ideas.

A group gathers the ideas that belong together — a company, a course, an association, a community project — so the people in it can find and discuss them in one place instead of hunting for them across the platform.

You do, in the only sense that matters: everything you upload under your idea stays yours, and you decide what is shown and to whom. Bay of Ideas is a neutral party and will never claim ownership of, or a stake in, an idea posted here. What you agree with the people who join is between you — in the end it works like any other partnership.

Yes, at any time, without asking anyone.

Yes. A personal account — posting ideas, connecting with people, joining groups and messaging — is free and will stay that way. Services aimed at companies, and some premium features for personal accounts, may be offered as paid options in the future.

You need to be of legal age. Ideas here regularly turn into joint ventures between people who had never met, and that is not something a minor can be signed up to.

By joining you accept our Terms and Conditions, which cover what you may post and what you can expect from us.

It is handled to current security standards and used for one purpose: making the platform work for you. We do not sell personal data to third parties. The full detail is in the privacy policy.