Why you shouldn’t be afraid to share your idea with others
Your idea isn’t as unique as you think
You may think you’ve got something novel, but in fact, your idea is a response to a lot of common realities and market forces being exerted on everyone, not just you. Even ideas that are wildly successful aren’t necessarily new. Google is a breakaway business in the world, but it wasn’t the world’s first search engine. This doesn’t mean you should give up now and stop pursuing your dream — but sharing your idea will help you uncover competition you may not have thought of, or assist you to give your idea shape and differentiation.
An idea isn’t an execution
Think about all the other elements that go into a successful business. First, you have to take your concept out of your brain, envision it on paper and bring it to life. From marketing to management to business plans, finances etc — there’s so much more to a business that’s as important if not more important than your idea. If all it takes to be successful in business is to steal other people’s ideas, there would be a lot more successful people out there. Your execution is what makes your idea to a successful business, not the idea itself.
Most people are just too busy
Honestly, even the people who love your idea most likely won’t bother to put in the effort to execute on it. Getting to the part where you actually profit means years of long hours, sweat, potential pitfalls and even failures. Startups aren’t a glamorous way to suddenly have a billion-dollar valuation, they’re hard work. That’s why only a few people do it, not because they were the only ones with the idea, but because they were the ones willing to put in the effort.
An idea gets better the more you share it
You may think you have to keep your idea safe, but the truth is, you should be trying to destroy it. Trying to break it down helps you find flaws and fix them. Asking everyone you meet whether or not they like your idea will assist you to validate it by determining others’ interest in it. When you keep your idea hidden, you ensure it’ll never go anywhere. If it really is a good idea, someone else will build it. Then all you’ll have is regret.
Your idea will change
The most important thing to remember is that there isn’t a single successful idea out there that hasn’t gone through multiple iterations of its core features. You have to introduce better experiences and functionality all the time; some even revamp their entire base idea to meet new realities. The truth is your original idea won’t even be recognizable by the time you get to seem back.
