Ask HN: Tell people about your idea, or keep it to yourself?

[bapbap]

Hi wonderful HN people.

Quick question, probably aimed at startup people.

Do you like telling people about your groundbreaking new idea, or do you keep your cards close to your chest?

When people ask me what I'm up to, I'm very reluctant to tell them, incase they, or someone they talk to, is a competitor and get a heads up on what exciting ideas I'm going to bring to their market.

I think I subscribe to the old school mantra of keeping quiet about what I'm up to but maybe I should get with the times, it does seem the more you talk about something the more likely your words will end up in the right persons ear, be it investors, new users etc.

What do you think?

[jonnytran]

I used to not tell anyone much more than a brief gist. But as time and projects have gone by, I'm starting to switch viewpoints.

Basically, 90% of the people I talk to couldn't implement my idea or simply don't care. Those that could implement it won't, b/c they think they have better ideas. Of the few who could and might, it's your job to convince them that their best chance of making it work is by joining you.

On top of that, I've found that talking about what you're going to do is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

That said, I would never go around telling the juiciest parts of my ideas to people I didn't already trust, or post them online where anyone and their mom can steal them without much remorse.

[abstractwater → jonnytran]

I kind of agree with the end results of your thoughts, but I think for very different reasons.

You mention "trust", "steal", "juiciest parts (of ideas)". You seem to imply that ideas (without execution) have a huge value and so must be protected somehow like a treasure. I think this is the fear that a hacker might listen, secretly record the conversation and swiftly run home to implement your idea before you. This is unlikely to happen. Chances are that if your idea is so good to get a hacker inspired to do something about it, a truly brilliant hacker might actually ask you if he can join you instead of going on his own. If he decides to "steal" it, chances are that he is not such a great hacker after all.

But anyway. An idea without execution is close to nothing. I don't think you have anything to fear to talk about it with anyone: non-tech people might help you to think outside-the-box and provide a different perspective; your peers might become interested, give implementation advice, or even join you. And you might as well talk about your idea at least to understand it's not shit.

If you keep your idea to yourself, it's just you and your brilliant, closed, lonely idea. :)

[bigtoga]

A healthy dose of skepticism works well for me. I'm happy to share certain details with close friends and colleagues but less likely to divulge critical processes to someone who I meet off of craigslist.

I will say that ideas are more sacred when they are still only ideas. Once I've executed on the idea, I'm happy to talk about the current implementation but not likely to divulge thoughts on future growth except to trusted advisors.

[oldgregg]

I run into people all the time who smirk "sorry, its a NDA thing" -- whatever dude. In all likelihood your idea isn't that good. Secretly you don't want to tell anybody because they might shut you down. So nobody will find out about it and you'll just be smug and self-righteous until you wake up one day and realize your 43 and still working at GeekSquad.

I worry more about getting discouraged and giving up. How do I stay focused? I tell everyone who will listen. New Competitors? None. Advice and connections? Tons.

And the best part: Once people know what you are doing you can't just quietly give up-- you have to fail spectacularly! Besides, what is the point of life if you can't share your life with the people around you?

[michael_dorfman]

I don't want to sound too old fashioned, but I think the key question you should be asking yourself about your "groundbreaking" idea is "What are the barriers to entry?" If the idea is such that anyone with a decent technical background could implement it upon hearing it, you're likely to get instant copy-cat competitors even if you do make it first to market.

If your idea is good, and there are sufficient barriers to entry, I don't think there's any problem discussing it with others-- in fact, I'd recommend you discuss it with people you trust, as they can help you refine it.

[xenoterracide]

depends on the product. the likelyhood of competition, and what kind of secrets you are devulging. I wouldn't tell people how to make your product. But, I believe someone said it on a thread recently (maybe blog entry) that not talking is overrated (paraphrase). Don't give up patent secrets or what your trump card is. But 99% of people ain't going to hurt you, your biggest problem will eventually become needing to tell people.

[bkbleikamp]

i think this is a good example of why a search box on HN might be helpful - i have seen this discussed multiple times.

(not attacking the poster, just pointing out a benefit of search, i think it's a very good question for discussion)

[bapbap → bkbleikamp]

Whoops sorry, I did try a Google site:news.ycombinator.com but obviously I didn't try hard enough!

[baha_man → bapbap]

Try 'Search Y Combinator' instead:

http://www.searchyc.com/

[melvinram]

I prefer to be open about things. For example: http://48hrlaunch.wordpress.com/2008/05/18/which-problem-sho...

Here's how I look at things: * Most people won't think your idea is as good as you think it is... because it's probably a lot more evolved in your head than what you're saying out loud. * People who do think your idea is worth stealing and spending their time & money, will probably do things differently than how you envision it. So their product will not be the same as what you have in your head. * Most people talk a lot and act very little. * The upside of telling people is that they can either connect you with people who can help you or give you feedback that might be useful.

The benefits far outweight the risk in most situations... not all... most.

[blogimus]

If you are by yourself, I firmly believe you need someone you trust to talk to. Everyone really needs a sounding board. I suggest that you try to find a partner or two. I'm kind of in the same boat and am contacting key people who I trust in my network for feedback and interest.

[car]

Before talking about your idea to others, consider applying for a patent, if this is a feasible option (e.g. business process patent). Then it could eventually be better protected, and pose a barrier to entry for competitors. Make sure to only disclose your idea under NDA before you file the patent application.

Once you have filed a patent application, you should definitely talk about your idea, since you'll have to convince potential partners and investors of it.

[ideas101]

it depends whom you are talking to - be smart enough to get alert if someone starts asking too many critical questions (especially about business model) ... also you can share only the outline of the idea (to get a response) rather than sharing the real meat. sometime you can also keep it very generic and simple, for example i'm planing to start a social/dating portal - where people get responses right away for their match - now by knowing this no one can figure it out how exactly you are going to do it and how it is going to be different from the rest of the competitor and what will be your business model/revenue stream etc.