Some companies pitching to Andreessen Horowitz et al. are a bit more than an "idea". None of them are likely to be labouring under the delusion that everything they say in that room is an absolute secret, but there's a big difference between some general idea of the direction of your growth filtering down to that VC's portfolio companies in the same space on the one hand, and on the other, a partner peppering you with questions about your business plan and then opting to found and fund their own "stealth" startup in that space instead...
It's absolutely a dick move, but as a founder you need to be better equipped than the VC to execute. If you can't make that case convincingly, you shouldn't be pitching.
The VC has access to a lot more than the "idea" from a pitching company. A lot of time and effort goes into researching a market opportunity and iterating on the idea to refine it. You learn which aspects of the idea, though they sounded sexy, turn out to be dead ends. Getting that information for free could give the VC's company a significant head start.
Yup. This is why you need to have execution, instead of just an idea. You need to bring to the pitch something that indicates that you are better-suited to pursue this opportunity than the VC is.
> ideas are worth exactly nothing and execution is worth everything.
there is 3rd component - money. You may have good idea and be executing it well. The VC has money, has your idea and in this situation hey have choice - your execution or to implement their own. Due to money asymmetry, even having somewhat worse execution, they may still do better than you.
This is a myth, although it has some root in reality.
The best ideas are often borne out of the conviction of the founders and their ability to spot an untapped need.
Because of this, founders (and progenitors of the original idea) are often true believers... and they will execute harder and with more conviction (even if less effectively at first), because it was their idea in the first place.
They'll often have better reactions and can better see where the market is going, because it was their idea in the first place.
Depending on their personality, they may also be better able to conceive of and implement improvements, because it was their idea in the first place.
Execution is critically important, but one cannot exist without the other.
Generally I agree, but an entrepreneur who walks into a VC pitch with execution at least partially accomplished should feel confident they're not going to get their idea stolen.
If you don't have enough execution under your belt that you have to worry about your idea being stolen, you aren't in a good position to be pitching VCs. That worry is a sign you should bootstrap more.
Your value proposition as a founder should never be as minimal as "It's my idea".