What Does it Mean to Monetize an Idea?

Monetization is about making an asset or a product eligible as legal tender. Generally, it involves the conversion of a non-revenue creating product into cash or cash-generating. 

Monetizing an idea is commonly used in entrepreneurship. The entrepreneur develops a novel idea of value proposition. The entrepreneur then assembles and mobilizes the resources necessary to generate value from the idea. This generally means exchanging a good, service, or information for value. 

How an entrepreneur monetizes a business idea generally revolves around the business model. The business model concerns how the idea or value proposition is used to create value for the entrepreneur (or her business).