But what if they steal my idea?

[carbonfree]

I once believed I had an idea that could change my life and make me financially successful.

This idea was so “genius” that I couldn’t tell a soul. I had to keep it in, strategize, plan, and when the time was right, I’d have it all built and would release it to the public.

How naïve of me. First of all, I was a non-tech founder, and my failed attempts in learning how to program weren’t getting me too far. Clearly, I needed a partner. My fear was, however, that once I told a programmer about my idea, they would already know how to implement it and would steal it for themselves.

As I started befriending programmers and web developers and began pitching my idea to them, I realized something that I wouldn’t have anticipated before. I realized that the programmers I was interested in partnering with didn’t care too much about my “golden idea” but we’re much more interested in what I brought to the table. What kind of skills did I have? What kind of connections did I have? What was my reason for pursuing what I was doing? What did I know about my industry? The idea was definitely a plus for finding programmers (and eventually investors), but ultimately, you need to reach a level where YOU as a person are valuable, independent of your idea. In other words—I needed to get myself and others to truly believe that this idea couldn’t reach its full potential unless I was a part of the team.

So what if they steal your idea? Well, the world is eventually going to know about your idea once you start to market it. If your idea is good enough, competitors will pop and try to crush you. But remember, people can steal ideas, but they can’t steal you. They can’t steal your style, your creativity, and your drive to succeed. That is what should make your business different.
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Sid is the founder of findthetechguy and writes regularly for their blog. He strives to connect business-minded people with people who are technical savvy so they can build great startups/online businesses together.

[DEJAVU]

are there legal steps to take if a company makes off with your work?

[pcbres16]

For this situation I would say draft up an NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement). By having the other party and yourself sign this document it legally binds them to confidentiality in regards to your idea.