“If the idea can be stolen so easily, then what makes you say that the idea is so good? If you have a venture that depends on the idea only, then it is very easy for competitors to do the same, and so you are likely to be copied at some point anyway. So with what you tell me now, your idea may be creating value, but isn’t necessarily going to enable you to capture the value.”

“I understand. I think I would do the same. The best ventures come from great ideas, and great ideas are rare. So I understand that you don’t want to share your idea.”

“I understand. I once thought the same. I spent a lot of time doing research behind my computer, writing a business plan about my idea and only when it was fully finished, I went over to a friend of my uncle, who is a VC, to get funding for my idea. When

I told him that my idea was superconfidential, he looked very disappointed. And two minutes later he had thanked me for my presentation and he explained that he wasn’t interested. He had not even seen my business plan! He asked me how many customers

I had spoken to about my idea, and I had said “none”. It was at that point that he decided that my idea was probably worthless. Now I know that an idea is just a starting point, and that it is only through action and field interaction that one gets

validation of the potential of that idea becoming a venture.”

“How can you know if it is a great idea if you cannot test it with people? Research shows that most successful entrepreneurs start with an initial idea, but then through testing with potential customers and stakeholders, most of the time the idea evolves

and becomes the actual venture… So you can do what you want, but all I know is that it is always better to talk about your idea in some way or another.”