About sharing your startup ideas

**jagat** · 03-22-2009 12:15 PM

Hello all,

I have an idea which I dream to implement soon enough. Iam working in a company right now and in the research stage for starting out a venture of my own.

What I want to do is to bring out the idea to the public for their opinion on that and do a kind of a survey. But my problem is that I have this fear that if someone else comes to know about this and starts working on this before I do. They may do this because of their better positioning financially, or for whatever the reason may be.

I want to know if this kind of fear is warranted? Has this happened (I sure it'd have..). ..and most importantly, what do I do to do the survey?

TIA
- J

**akula** · 03-22-2009 12:33 PM

hi,
no your paranoia is not warranted...for a lot of reasons
go ahead and do the survey...using a tool like icontact helps
start contacting prospects and pitching your questionnaire
take prepayments from these people and use the survey results to recruit a cofounder or raise further finance, if needed

**ilyabodner** · 03-22-2009 04:26 PM

A business plan should be put in place. It doesn't have to be too deep or very well organized but the idea must be easy for everyone to understand. Think of it like a 5th grade introduction to your project.

Sincerely,

Ilya Bodner
Small Business Owner
Initial Underwriting Group

**nate_f2** · 03-23-2009 04:50 AM

Im in a situation just like yourself right now. Ive had this idea for time now but only told my parents about it fearing that someone would see the potential and snag it. I realized that if I only kept it to myself it will never happen. Unless you have a great credit score or come from rich parents you will never save up the money in time to get this up and running. What Im finding is that there are certain people that YOU CAN TRUST which is hard to believe lol. So think about it hard and pay attention to your conscious and intuition. That's what business is all about baby>>>> RISKS and moving forward.

**elliotiscool** · 03-25-2009 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by akula

hi,
no your paranoia is not warranted...for a lot of reasons
go ahead and do the survey...using a tool like icontact helps
start contacting prospects and pitching your questionnaire
take prepayments from these people and use the survey results to recruit a cofounder or raise further finance, if needed

I disagree. There are plenty of people around who look for ideas and take them. I would be careful with how I conduct these surveys. I have no clue how you plan on conducting these surveys, but keep in mind that there is always the non-compete contract you can have people sign.

Try to look over how you are trying to get info from other people, and balance it out. Don't be too anal about it all, but at the same time don't wave a bigger banner in the air and say "I have a new business idea and want to see if it will work." If I heard someone say that, as competitive as things are, I would help the person out, but with the intention of helping myself if you get what I mean.

One entrepreneur to another, I would always be careful doing things like these. I have had my ideas stolen, and I've also done vice-versa.

Best of luck to you

**mhawthorn** · 03-26-2009 06:37 AM

I agree with elliotiscool, be very careful when discussing it with anyone even if you think you can trust them.

Depending on the idea and your resources, you may wish to consider some formal protection (Patents, etc).

I always get people to sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) before discussing any ideas with them and I only discuss it with people that NEED to know about it.

**gggreen** · 04-16-2009 03:40 AM

Do the market scouting first, it would be of great help to step ahead

**mcstartup** · 04-22-2009 04:34 PM

95% of the work is in the execution. Ideas are a dime a dozen, so I wouldn't worry about it so much. I'd start by contacting those people who would actually be potential customers, explain your situation, and ask them for advice. You'll end up with a good list of sales leads when you do launch, you'll have supporters, and you'll get real feedback from real customers, which is far more useful than listening to some random guy on a message board, myself included.

**byrneof** · 04-24-2009 01:02 PM

I don't believe in keeping an idea to yourself. The world is a big place and I bet that there are at least 100 people with the same idea as you right now. They key is to do something about it.

Do the survey. Even better, put a prototype or beta together and contact potential customers. You are going to have to tell people at some point.

Besides, potential investors won't sign an NDA.

Good luck.

**Lena** · 04-29-2009 12:35 AM

I have an idea which I dream to implement soon enough. Iam working in a company right now and in the research stage for starting out a venture of my own.

**gggreen** · 05-01-2009 06:14 AM

all the best Lena for getting a new startup,
anyone interested in keeping this thread breathing?

**Gene** · 05-01-2009 08:17 AM

Do the survey, and then immediately get started. Don't wait around because then, you are inviting someone in to steal your idea.

**gggreen** · 05-04-2009 04:54 AM

Originally Posted by jagat

Hello all,

I have an idea which I dream to implement soon enough. Iam working in a company right now and in the research stage for starting out a venture of my own.

What I want to do is to bring out the idea to the public for their opinion on that and do a kind of a survey. But my problem is that I have this fear that if someone else comes to know about this and starts working on this before I do. They may do this because of their better positioning financially, or for whatever the reason may be.

I want to know if this kind of fear is warranted? Has this happened (I sure it'd have..). ..and most importantly, what do I do to do the survey?

TIA
- J

Doing a survey doesnot means that u r telling your business idea to others... however, just frame the survey accordingly.... read about marketing research, product development etc.

About hijacking your idea, this has been a problem since ages... piracy and capitalizing on idea is ethical as far as they can prove it their own... and the truth is that most of the time you cannt challenge them.... so be a good strategist.... if it's your own idea, then u know it better how to execute things.... you have advantage in operations.

**Jennifer Kim** · 05-08-2009 07:18 PM

No matter what you do you will not be able to avoid copycats. However, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Having a copycat or two can bring attention to your industry and create a buzz that you wouldn't have been able to achieve yourself.

What you have to focus on is your business model and marketing efforts. Burger King is not exactly a revolutionary idea but with a proven franchise model and clever marketing they were able to carve their own niche and becoming very profitable in doing so.

**nonrate** · 05-08-2009 08:07 PM

Most people that hear about your idea will NOT act on it. If you are even thinking right now that it might be slightly difficult to get an investor, definitely don't worry about someone stealing and developing your idea.

Most people do not take action on ANYTHING, even a good thing. You may already find out that your idea is not 100% unique.

Of course, there is always a small risk that it could be taken. However, there's also a small risk of you totaling your car every time you take a drive. That doesn't stop you, does it?

There are 50,000 deaths in the US alone (give or take) from car accidents. Are there 50,000 ideas stolen every year in the US? If you're lucky, you may hear about a lawsuit once every two years. Seems like your risk of injury in your car is far, far greater.

You're probably safe to discuss...