Paranoid and worried about sharing my project's idea
20 Feb 2020 Edit: glad to see I no longer think like this... Going to take it easy and be more open sharing from now on.
I know it's kind of lame to raise this question, but I really think that this is something not to be taken lightly and my interactions with others regarding my project need to be thoughtful and consider positive and negative possibilities.
I am convinced that ideas alone aren't worth much (dime-a-dozen). I'm convinced that this is the case. But if you're product and you're just a startup with limited resources, the first mover advantage is very important, and having people chasing you close behind might at some points be an issue causing you to lose business. This means that maximizing the first mover's advantage is important.
To maximize this advantage, one needs to maximize the time where there is little competition. During this time the product matures, gains market visibility, the brand name is established, and an actual customer base signs up.
What I am looking for from this post is for us to think together about some ideas on what to do and what not to do while interacting with people about my project. What to worry about and what to not worry about.
For example, here are some of the items I'm sure about
1- If I'm talking to a prospect customer, definitely share without worries
2- If I'm talking to software developer who is eager to start a new project, and doesn't have connections I'm interested in: most likely not share the idea (maybe just talk about software algorithms or architecture)
There is a spectrum in between. How can I be smart about it? How can I be not-stupid about it?
For example, I recently met a stranger online who worked for a long time as sales for technology companies. They might have technical knowledge and understanding, but doesn't seem to be a developer (although could be someone who knows a developer, or worse, runs a software company --I don't know).
We had a balanced conversation where both of us shared information and asked questions. I felt comfortable and given the fact that I am in dire need for marketing and sales skills, I got so excited and also in the hopes that he will be interested to work with me, I fully shared the idea of my project and why it makes sense. His response that he agrees that it is a good idea.
He said that he will think about it and will get back to me in a few days. I believe that he will, but I met yet another person online and started to think what if these people are just fishing for ideas (that are worth pennies, but can evolve into MILLIONS when executed, so don't underestimate ideas!).
So what should I look for? What should I look out for?
It sounds like you're overthinking this and I relate.
There's no easy way to explain that no one cares to steal your idea. That's not a putdown. It's just something people internalize after years of creating things and putting them out on the internet.
Early mover doesn't mean much right now because it's unlikely the first release of anything will make an impact.
Companies have brainstorming sessions where they conceptualize new ideas all the time, so odds are the competition has already thought of every idea, they just haven't pulled the trigger to execute it yet.
Being closed off honestly does more harm than good. It looks defensive and makes it hard for people to join your cause. Talk to every potential customer/user about your idea.
Yes! Being closed off does more harm than good!
A competitor could easily pretend to be a customer (I'm sure that's part of market research at all large companies). So unless you plan to hide from your own customers, your idea can leak out.
So maybe it's possible a competitor will steal an idea and run with it. But the damage from not finding your market and talking to them will almost certainly mean your idea never grows to what actual people need.
Also, as a developer, I signed an NDA for the first solo work I did, and later read this advice: "If a 'startup' wants you to sign an NDA, run away. That means they're never going to have the courage to get their idea in front of people." It's a sample size of 1, but def turned out to be true in my case.
I'm not closed off. I do share openly but what I'm doing is sharing slowly and carefully; perhaps too slowly and too carefully, hindering good marketing.
This is why you need to pick a problem that you are passionate about and understand better than anyone else. Believe me, you'll need this passion to go through the lows and you need the understanding to work with your customers to find product / market fit. That is the difficult part in execution.
In case you find someone that shares the same passion and understanding; try to bring them on board, otherwise don't worry too much. You don't need to share all the details with everyone though.
Great question.
Some people share everything, and it becomes a competitive advantage (think Pieter Levels). Others don't share as much. Competition doesn't always act on ideas, either – there's bureaucracy, development costs, planning, and ego involved (think Blockbuster vs. Netflix).
Sooner or later, your competition will steal your ideas. So unless you think that you can completely destroy their business before that, don't worry about keeping secrets. Early business is less about strategy and much more about (1) execution and (2) positioning.
Execution is common-sense – talk to prospects, take care of existing customers, and make sure your product is the best one on the market.
Positioning is more nuanced, but it stacks the cards in your favor. Here's an example from one of my old blog posts:
Because your competition will eventually steal your ideas, focus on positioning yourself well.
BTW, Derek Sivers wrote a great little piece on ideas and execution that you might want to take a look at: sivers.org/multiply
What I understand about positioning is that it is about targeting a sub-audience in the market, for example targeting entrepreneurs vs. small businesses vs. huge companies, or other segments depending on your product, or the way you charge: 50 dollars for a subscription vs. 50,000 dollars system implementation fees, right?
All these "positioning" questions end up defining your product and your approach to market.
I would like to challenge two big assumptions you’ve raised:
Actually, both academia and business results demonstrate examples on both sides of this argument. I’ll provide a couple of counterpoints to this statement from very reputable authors.
https://www.businessinsider.com/steve-blank-first-mover-advantage-overrated-2010-10/?IR=T
https://business.financialpost.com/entrepreneur/1031-biz-rh-ryan-firstmover
There is an implicit assumption here, that there is in fact little competition. Beware that this may indicate you do not understand the market segments and potential competition in depth, or overestimate the comparative advantage of your product. If in fact, there is little competition, assess whether the market is big enough to support a fledgling idea, and the timing is right. The risk here is in trying to educate a market to buy something different than what they already understand. This is why “fast followers” can in many cases beat “first movers”.
As indiehackers, I think many of us should ask the question:
How can you stack the odds in your favour? (Sorry I don’t have the magic bullet here!)
If you think that you have a disruptive game-changing idea, go for it - just know that probability may disagree with you. Otherwise, if you’re uncertain, just put something out there and start working with people as you go. The idea is going to evolve over time.
TLDR: you’re worried that someone else will start executing your idea. Stop worrying and accept that someone will (even if you don’t share the idea, someone else will come up with it). Solution: start executing and talk to customers in your space.
I just read this: https://www.businessinsider.com/steve-blank-first-mover-advantage-overrated-2010-10/?IR=T
It says that fast followers have higher success rates that first-movers. How can I benefit practically from this advice? Wait for someone to execute the idea that I have (or worse, I leak it to them intentionally for that purpose), and then "fast-follow" them?
Wait, is this actually a good idea? * light bulb *? I'm perplexed now.
Thank you for your thoughtful reply.
My post is then about: how do I do what you advise me to do? How do I maximize talking to customers while at the same time minimize leaking ideas and business strategy to competitors?
Your product is a solution to someone's big nasty problem. Spend all day talking about the problem. Shout it from the mountain tops that you're solving the problem. Have people wonder why and how you're solving the problem.
You may opt to keep your specific solution under covers, that's your choice (and not what I would do), but if you focus all your external conversations around the problem space, you'll be fine.
I'll start with Mount Reddit and tell them that my product solves a problem and they should give it a try!
Then I'll go to other mountains: Mount Hacknoon and some other mountains before the Great Mount Product Hunt
I understand your feeling, and it’s perfectly natural. It’s one’s worst fear to see someone copy and implement one of your ideas (I’ve had this happen twice) - but I assure you, that is not what will determine your success or failure. That is all attributable to your ability to execute. And no one can help you execute when you work in a vacuum.
Think about it this way, as a founder you only have a fixed amount of time, effort and drive to spend on tactics. Do you really want to allocate some of that “budget” to worrying about what other people might do? Unless you’re managing a team working on top secret military tech, don’t worry about it.
You’re in the jungle with 99 other things trying to kill you. Don’t worry about whether there -may- be another snake around the corner when there’s a clear rope to safety within sight but just out of reach (solve your customers need). Figure out how to get to the rope.
I will echo what has been mentioned here a couple time as well - it is absolutely common for competitors investors, or research agencies to masquerade as potential customers to gain competitive insight once you have traction. You can not stop this. I know this first hand. Focus your time on your target market and pitch without hesitation to your audience. Try to build your brand and tell your story (own your problem space) now. It doesn’t happen overnight.
Thanks for the interesting write up, I love the analogy. Point is very clear.
So when your ideas were stolen, your business project was not really affected?
The last paragraph is all marketing. How can I improve my marketing skills, my story telling skills, my brand-building skills?
Hey :)
Read this: https://www.inc.com/karl-and-bill/why-your-idea-isnt-worth-anything.html
It's an article that should calm you down a little bit and help you with your paranoia.
Anyway, the conclusion is this - there are two reasons why you don't need to worry as much as you might think:
Ideas are not as valuable as most people think. The key to a successful business is not a "million dollar idea", it's million dollar execution.
Because execution is the hardest part, stealing ideas isn't really all that useful.
Good luck!
But check this out: https://medium.com/newindustrialist/afraid-of-people-stealing-your-idea-when-putting-your-idea-out-there-67c92018a315
This guys talks about his idea stolen by another company and his competitor offers it for free and gets acquired for 100M.
He also says it doesn't matter!!!!
If all someone needs is to hear your product idea to take your business down, it wasn't a very strong business in the first place. If you think if it that way, there's no reason not to share - the feedback you get will be worth more than your protection.
But check this out: https://medium.com/newindustrialist/afraid-of-people-stealing-your-idea-when-putting-your-idea-out-there-67c92018a315
This guys talks about his idea stolen by another company and his competitor offers it for free and gets acquired for 100M.
He also says it doesn't matter!!!!