Ask HN: Do ideas never matter and should you never be afraid to share them?

2 points by throwawayadvsec 2 years ago | 3 comments

I'm usually not afraid to share my ideas unless they're really ridiculous and I'm ashamed of my twisted mind.

But I just had an idea that seems really great to me, and potentially really profitable, really quickly, if I move my ass to launch an MVP. There is a market for it that's 100% sure, if my product is good enough and well marketed it can definitely succeed.

I was about to ask for feedback about it to an alumnus from my school, who's an industry expert.

But I took a step back and I was like: he was in school a year before me, he have more business experience, he's a better seller, have a bit more technical experience overall, launched a few successful projects, more domain expertise, a better network, more capital.

If I expose my project to him, and he's actually interested, he actually have a lot more chance of succeeding than me, and he definitely don't need me, so I would have just lost my first mover advantage.

My only real advantage would be one specific technical skill that he don't have, but he very likely have the means to outsource this part.

Do you think you should never be afraid to share your business ideas? Or are there specific cases where it's just a terrible idea to do so?

troymc 2 years ago |

Yes, of course there are specific cases where it's clearly a dumb idea to share the idea with someone else.

The usual saying is that all that really matters, in the end, is the execution of the idea. If that were strictly true, there would be no need for patents.

al2o3cr 2 years ago | |

     If that were strictly true, there would be no need for patents.

That's literally the opposite of the reason for patents: the person obtaining the patent is supposed to disclose the idea, in exchange for an exclusive right to implement it for a fixed period. The patent is specifically intended to PREVENT people with better execution from taking the idea without compensation.

In re: OP's question - you're going to have to explain the idea to potential customers, how are you planning to keep _them_ from "stealing" it?

sharemywin 2 years ago |

While sharing the idea with him might not be a good move you need to get something in front of at least one potential customer early on.