Get some help from the local university (Score 1)

You might have two opportunities through your local university. Try this:

1. Write out your idea using a couple of paragraphs and a simple diagram.

2. Take this documentation and approach the professor form your local university that teaches the 400-level Software Engineering class.

3. Ask that professor to have the 400-level class lab develop your software as their class project.

4. Explain that you can make yourself available during lab time to provide requirements, test prototypes and provide other user-level input.

5a. If you don't mind your idea being publicly available, ask the professor to have the project placed under an open source license that fits your business model (Apache, MIT, BSD, whatever) and placed on the web. Google Code and SourceForge might be good places.

5b. If you prefer to keep your idea private, ask the professor how you could pay for the effort. Many universities have programs that encourage the school to work with small business. You may be able to operate in one of those programs. Most senior professors will either understand how this works or can direct you to someone who does.

Just remember that your interests will always be secondary using this approach. The purpose of the lab is to train students. If you can provide the students with an interesting project, it makes the lab that much more interesting and it gives purpose to their efforts. Make sure that, as the idea guy, you do not attempt to conceal your business interests from the students. They are quick to detect falseness and will lose interest in your project. Also, if you stay actively engaged, you may find some good employees during the whole experience also.

Good luck.