71–80 of 114 posts
We've been arguing over two definitions of the same word for years, and both sides have been correct all along.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is that a counterexample? Suppose they hadn't taken the meeting. What would have prevented Marcelo from starting Care.com? As far as I can tell, nothing. Sittercity had been operating for 5 years in public view. Obvious idea, proven market, easy to find Sittercity users to interview. (However, bringing an EIR to an investment meeting strikes me as incredibly dubious.)
Completely agree here, this is not a counter example of 'stealing' an idea but one of 'executing' on an idea. And not surprisingly this is what folks worry about, that someone with more resources than them will hear about their idea and be able to execute on it before they get off the ground. That would be true, if the person who had the resources didn't have anything else to do, but as a rule that is very rare, peop…
I don't agree. Mainly because I don't agree with the premise that ideas are worthless - something that is echoed around all the time. Ideas being worthless is the lazy and easy way to explain to someone why they should get feedback on their idea. The reality is ideas do have value. We've got a great idea for a new product, and we're not telling anyone about it. That's because our idea has value and we don't want anyo…
Here's the thing: if your idea is not a controversial and potentially groundbreaking one, then you are not the only person who has it. Chances are, someone else has already thought of it and is working on it. The example you gave with the SMS service is like this: it's a decent idea, but not exactly difficult to come up with. On the other hand, if your idea is controversial and potentially groundbreaking, then it wil…
"Don't worry about people stealing an idea; if it's original, you'll have to shove it down their throats." - Howard Aiken. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_H._Aiken
This is pure nonsense. Please, please, please stop talking about ideas. What people steal --and the only thing with huge value-- are MARKET OPPORTUNITIES. Ideas are easy to generate. Everyone has loads of them. When an idea is combined with the work necessary to identify if a market opportunity exists it can become invaluable. Ideas are not stolen because an idea, all by itself, does not identify whether or not anyon…
I don't agree. Mainly because I don't agree with the premise that ideas are worthless - something that is echoed around all the time. Ideas being worthless is the lazy and easy way to explain to someone why they should get feedback on their idea. The reality is ideas do have value. We've got a great idea for a new product, and we're not telling anyone about it. That's because our idea has value and we don't want anyo…
They have to be sufficiently advanced (technologically) that nobody would have thought of it, solve a problem that almost nobody realizes is a problem, and have very clear, easy paths of implementation to making lots of money.
I don't agree. Mainly because I don't agree with the premise that ideas are worthless - something that is echoed around all the time. Ideas being worthless is the lazy and easy way to explain to someone why they should get feedback on their idea. The reality is ideas do have value. We've got a great idea for a new product, and we're not telling anyone about it. That's because our idea has value and we don't want anyo…
I bet that when they were first proposed (before building anything or seeing adoption numbers) WebTV seemed like a MUCH better idea than Twitter. (not that they're comparable services just that if I told you that I wanted to let people use the internet from their living room, that would sound more exciting and useful than creating a service where people write 140 character blog posts).
Quality of idea just might not be a valuable metric.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Completely agree here, this is not a counter example of 'stealing' an idea but one of 'executing' on an idea. And not surprisingly this is what folks worry about, that someone with more resources than them will hear about their idea and be able to execute on it before they get off the ground. That would be true, if the person who had the resources didn't have anything else to do, but as a rule that is very rare, peop…
Ok But I think you are missing the point. They reached out to a firm "Matrix Partners" to help them execute by financial means and that firms individuals chose to spin off an exact duplicate of their startup?! Sham! ~That firm should be frowned upon and ridiculed and avoided by all entrepreneurs.
The problem is that there are companies and people with way more resources than you out there. They could take your idea and execute it faster and maybe even better than you. Look at Zynga: They continue to rip-off smaller developers because they have a much bigger pool of resources.
There are ideas that big companies will never execute - because throwing 5000-20000$ per month might be simply not worth that. Recommended reading: The Bootstrapper's Bibles
I actually did have someone steal my idea. I was interviewing for a technical co-founder and talked to a guy who seemed really interested. However, after a couple of conversations I got a weird vibe from him and went with someone else. (Oh, and I had $1M in funding at this point, & I was looking for a full partner, not someone to "just build my idea.") A few months later I find that he has started a similar company,…
So you agree with the OP that there is no danger in sharing your ideas before you have traction, etc.? Also, I have seen plenty of posts talking about these types of situations and the person, just like you did, never explains their business or provides a link to it. I would be curious to see what the actual idea was to better understand your situation.
You have to have faith that it's not just your idea that's valuable, but your idea + you and your experience and what you bring to it.
There is definitely a great divide on whether to keep an idea secret or not. Locations and the social circles you are apart of matter quite a bit; I live in SF and work in PA and I'm surrounded by very capable people. I have had ideas stolen that I was in mid process of building, particularly by an EIR's (entrepreneur in residence) who had better resources than I and were able to execute much faster. And it turned ou…