Excerpt from a chat I had with a friend, that is so stereotypical, that I want to write it down here:
The statement (aprox.)
I have a vision for a product/service/..., that i got because/from/during/... It will be big, but i wont tell it to anyone for now until it's more mature/built/... I'm currently in "stealth mode", so nobody can steal my idea. If you are interested, you can you join me or maybe you know somebody that would join? (If you want to, please sign this Non-Disclosure-Agreement)
Honestly, people come up with ideas all the time, but it's all in the execution and endurance anyway. Most give up. Nobody will steal your idea(s), because:
- first, words barely are enough to communicate a vision or any personal experience anyway... this is exactly the reason why discussion hardly ever solve anything if the people involved do not share the same experience. Tell somebody about how your last holidays felt and looked like. Even though you might think its simple for a listener to repeat, most barely can remember everything you say even though they try leave alone reproduce any details you did not mention this time around. They havent been there.
- second, even if somebody would understand your vision in detail, it's questionable if that person sees the same value and potential given his personal experience and knowledge...
- third, even if a person would understand the vision and would see the potential, its still questionable if that person has time to do it or is maybe already busy with their life and other stuff
- fourth, even if a person understands, sees the value AND has the time to do it, it's still questionable if that person has the skill to do it.
- fifth, even if that person understands, sees the value, has the time and even the skill to do it .... will that person not rather join forces with you and discuss and move the whole thing faster instead of trying to compete ???
Aditionally: In each market there are tons of competitors, but customers anyway do not know the market well. Having competitors actually helps to CREATE the market in the first place, because they all raise awareness by talking about something new. Competitors are also a good sign, that the idea is probably something valid. If there were no competitors/substitutes, then thats a big warning sign that there might not be a market. Competitors help to learn from their ideas anyway. Even if there were no competitors, the copy cats will come for sure and there is a whole established industry to professionally execute copy cats of something successful. So in the end, it's anyway the execution that matters.
It's important to get the word out as often as possible, because:
- It gives you feedback to improve the concept and learn about aspects you didnt think about
- It is free marketing, so people start to follow you because they want to learn more
- Its perfect to start building a community of potential customers and learn about their NEEDS
- Its perfect for others, so they know that they should share links with you that they came across and that have information about what competitors or similar solutions on the market exist
Also check: