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4 reasons why secrecy in a startup is way overrated
Once in a while, I will go to a conference and meet someone who won’t tell me what their startup does because they’re afraid I’ll steal their idea.
This is the wrong attitude when starting a company. Having someone copy your idea is the least of your worries. Instead, you should engage as many people as possible to get feedback on your idea.
At Startup 2006, Reid Hoffman recommended entrepreneurs ‘value speed and intelligent feedback over secrecy‘. Here are four reasons why idea secrecy hurts startups more than it helps:
1. Someone else has probably already thought of your idea.
We would all love to think that our ideas are truly unique. But in reality very few ideas are one of a kind.
If you don’t share your idea, you won’t have a chance to find out if anyone is thinking alone the same lines (i.e. competitors or potential partners).
It’s too easy for programmers to put their head phones on, disappear into the tree house, and emerge 2 years later with the end all be all product. That’s why the first release of your product should be embarrassing.
Get it out there. Promote your idea like hell. And see if ANYONE is interested.
2. You lose a golden opportunity for feedback.
Overly optimistic entrepreneurs tend to shun critical feedback on their ideas. This is dangerous because one of the best things an entrepreneur can do with a new idea is share it with as many people as possible. Think of it as a free market test and invite harsh feedback on why it couldn’t possibly work.
This isn’t intended as an exercise in discouragement. Rather, it is a form of critical thinking that many starry eyed entrepreneurs pass on because they are so convinced their idea is the next YouTube. By being overly secret with your idea, you pass on opportunities to engage smart people in meaningful discussion around it.
Besides the lost critical thinking, you also lose out on karma. By sharing your idea with as many people as possible, you don’t give the universe an opportunity to conspire for you and drop you hints on how to get what you want. Who knows, that guy eating lunch by himself might be your next tech lead or investor.
Share your idea - the universe wants to conspire for you.
3. Your idea isn’t what you think it is.
While you certainly need an idea to kick things off, most startups end up looking vastly different then when they started. Your job is to figure out as quickly as possible where the real opportunity lies.
The more people you talk to about your idea and the sooner your release your product, the faster you can zero in on the true value it holds. As quickly as possible, you need to find that tipping point or break through that turns your idea from a vitamin into a pain killer.
4. Ideas are cheap. Execution is everything.
There’s a reason why VC’s look so hard at who they are funding as much as what they are funding. They know it’s the founder and team that are going to make or break the venture.
An idea without a strong executing team is like a rocket without jet fuel. It may look nice on the launch pad, but chances are it’s not going very far. The world is full of great ideas. What the world lacks people who can execute them.
Secrecy in today’s flat world is largely dead. Openness and transparency is where it’s at. You’re much better off getting feedback from as many people as possible and pushing your product out the door quickly.
March 15th, 2007 at 1:03 am
It’s posts like this that make me so glad I found CH and have become so involved with you guys. Not a wasted moment in it any of it.
March 15th, 2007 at 7:58 am
Thanks CC. We love the f/b and love talking about this kind of stuff. Fire me any other topics you (or anyone else in the community) would be interested in.
March 15th, 2007 at 8:54 am
I’ve found that I need to let my ideas sit and be discussed for months before I make the decision to begin executing them. I like to start with a much more refined idea/plan, and sometimes they’ll turn into something completely different.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:32 am
I think that’s smar Cory. This happens to me almost every day. I am still amazed at how much better me ideas become when I bounce them off other people, get critical feedback, while trying to keep my ego in check and not take the feedback personally.
It’s almost scary
March 15th, 2007 at 9:59 am
I agree with all of this, especially #4. No, wait, especially with all of them.
Once you realize that bare ideas are a dime a dozen, it becomes much easier to be creative.
March 15th, 2007 at 10:37 am
“Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are
any good, you’ll have to ram them down people’s throats.”
— Howard Aiken
March 15th, 2007 at 10:49 am
Great quote Art. Another favorite of mine:
“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration!” - Thomas Edison
March 15th, 2007 at 10:49 am
JR truly a great post!
I agree 100% with everything you said… and I really don’t under stand why people are not more transparent these days!
Keep these blogs coming!
March 15th, 2007 at 11:57 am
Great job, JR.
Transparency is a buzz word overheard a lot these days. I completely agree with you on setting yourself up for honest feedback.
My question is, how do you know when your idea is no longer feasible? What are the signs that a start-up is no longer viable? How do you know when it’s time to stop convincing others and time to hang up the gloves?
Perhaps this is whole other blog post, but I’d like your thoughts on this when you get the chance.
Thanks buddy!
Keep up the great work!
ps. no spell check on the reply feature? uh-oh… add it to the qeueueue
March 15th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
Another great post JR. I agree with the entries here. I sat on my idea for a couple months and might not have ever started it, and then saw some local news on TV related to my idea. So I created the site quick and contacted the media right away. The site is already being done in other countries and in other ways but that didn’t discourage me. So many people talk about ideas, dreams, etc but never go after them.
There are so many tools now that allow people to put up websites quick or drag and drop widgets that the next wave of innovation is just getting started in my opinion.
WK
March 15th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Good question Sarah -> ‘How do you know when your idea is no longer feasible?’
At the end of the day I think it’s a gut call every entrepreneur has to make when weighing the merits of their idea.
At Startup 2006 Reid talked about starting Social Net in 1997 and how very early on, the problem of dating users churning every 3 1/2 months was brought up (either people find a match and leave, or they don’t find a match and leave). That’s tough turn over when you are trying to build a community of 10Million.
So he knew about the problem early on, and yet they were still struggling with it 2 1/2 years later on.
It’s answering those tough questions early on, and asking yourself if they can be overcome that each entrepreneur needs to decide before pursuing.
Great question btw.
March 15th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
Great post JR.
All good points but #3 really resonates. You really need to prick up your ears, listen to feedback from your community and zig and zig according to the changing marketplace.
Even multinational corporations learn this lesson with certain product offerings. I think the following example was given in Wikinomics:
Avon released Skin So Soft as a Bath Oil but people routinely used it as an Insect Repellent. Avon zig and zagged and marketed Skin So Soft Bug Guard. That’s paying attention to your users and capitalizing on how your product is being used!
Cheers
March 15th, 2007 at 7:56 pm
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March 19th, 2007 at 5:40 am
super super nice. I’m very encouraged by this. Thanks for sharing.
March 21st, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Another article along the same lines: http://www.advogato.org/person/apenwarr/diary.html?start=258
March 21st, 2007 at 7:39 pm
[…] I have been meaning to make a post on this for a while. I’m glad someone beat me to it! You can read the entire post here. And again, secrecy is SUPER overrated especially in your starting stages as an entrepreneur. […]
April 16th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
One of the best posts so far!
Keep up the good work.
September 1st, 2007 at 12:24 am
I have to disagree. What you say makes sense for ideas which require some effort to implement. If the idea is easy to execute and is also a world-class concept then letting too many people know what it is means one of them WILL steal it.
I’m currently sitting on such an idea (I didn’t come up with it, but I know how to make the product). Why am I sitting on it then? Because it needs pitching to governments. I know for a fact if the right person pitched it they would definately buy as it is rational for them to do so. But I don’t know how to go about approaching such people! More over I’m not sure how to work out WHO to approach.
How do I know it’s a world class idea? It solves a minor but irritating problem problem nearly EVERYBODY has and they DO know they have this problem. Heh. Intrigued? If you’re some kind of marketing genius get in touch then
November 21st, 2007 at 4:20 am
Cool!
January 8th, 2008 at 5:53 am
Interesting…
February 2nd, 2008 at 2:24 am
Nice!
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