I've got an idea for a startup

[Eurofooty]

I have an idea for a startup but I'm not sure how I would actually go about implementing it in a technical sense to beta, on a minimal budget and within a short time period.

The other consideration I have is sharing my idea with a technical guru who could potentially advise me on some of the best practices and relevant technologies. Though without an NDA in place (and a realistic way to enforce it), I am somewhat reluctant to divulge and lose any advantages as an innovator.

Is there a way to get around this? i.e. getting some technical guidance versus confidentiality and maintaining control.

[mchannon]

Howard Aiken said it best: "Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats."

There are two passive modes of control over your ideas that you can deploy that won't be taken as signs of "paranoid crackpot syndrome": patent rights and copyright.

Patent rights do cost (particularly if you're broke like many startuppers) and they set a process in motion you have to keep up with (commitments to financially support your patent in upcoming years or lose rights to it), but they make for an effective deterrent to some. They also give investors warm fuzzies, particularly if you sound like you know what you're doing when it comes to the filing process.

Copyrights are free and easy. If you have a powerpoint or whitepaper, simply stick your © dingbat, year, and name on every page. Your first level of audience will still be able to take your idea and run with it, but it becomes a violation of copyright law to distribute the copyrighted work (or iterations thereof) further without your consent.

The kids who cheated off you in high school by and large have found other, less productive things to do with their lives than try and steal your thunder.

[dkersten]

Here's what I posted to a similar question a few days ago: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3703195

Bottom line is, most people agree that ideas are cheap and that its incredibly rare that keeping them to yourself is worth it, especially as you won't be able to get input from people in your target market and won't be able to talk to potential customers and early adopters. This will cripple market validation and early adaptation to your customers needs. Few successful ideas stay static.

[Eurofooty]

Agreed. I think I simply have to take the plunge and "trust" someone capable.

[dkersten]

I know how hard it can be to share an idea you really believe in - even though I know better, it still sometimes happens to me.

Ironically, the ideas I thought had the biggest need for secrecy are also the ones that others did actually do too, completely independently from me. You may think that it was a good thing I kept them secret, or these other people would have been able to work on the same idea even quicker, but I now firmly believe the opposite to be true: if I had shared the idea and talked to people, I could have got advice or even help to make my version better or complete it faster. The other people were going to make their version regardless, so I may as well get as much help and advice as possible, right? Plus if I have my idea out in the public, it could prove valuable as prior art should the other people attempt to patent their version, while having kept the idea secret, I'm now completely at their mercy.

Also, people not already invested in an idea (usually because they didn't come up with it themselves) are very unlikely to steal it. Even if they do, you just need to make sure you can adapt to the market needs. I've heard stories of startup ideas being copied, but the copies not being able to adapt quickly enough to the market because the people who copied them don't have the same drive and vision as the people who had the idea in the first place.