Sitemaps
Should Kids Follow in Our Founder Footsteps?
The Evolution of Entry Level Workers
Assume Everyone Will Leave in Year One
Stop Listening to Investors
Was Mortgaging My Life Worth it?
What's My Startup Worth in an Acquisition?
When Our Ambition is Our Enemy
Are Startups in a "Silent Recession"?
The 5 Types of Startup Funding
What Is Startup Funding?
Do Founders Deserve Their Profit?
Michelle Glauser on Diversity and Inclusion
The Utter STUPIDITY of "Risking it All"
Committees Are Where Progress Goes to Die
More Money (Really Means) More Problems
Why Most Founders Don't Get Rich
Investors will be Obsolete
Why is a Founder so Hard to Replace?
We Can't Grow by Saying "No"
Do People Really Want Me to Succeed?
Is the Problem the Player or the Coach?
Will Investors Bail Me Out?
The Value of Actually Getting Paid
Why do Founders Suck at Asking for Help?
Wait a Minute before Giving Away Equity
You Only Think You Work Hard
SMALL is the New Big — Embracing Efficiency in the Age of AI
The 9 Best Growth Agencies for Startups
This is BOOTSTRAPPED — 3 Strategies to Build Your Startup Without Funding
Never Share Your Net Worth
A Steady Hand in the Middle of the Storm
Risk it All vs Steady Paycheck
How About a Startup that Just Makes Money?
How to Recruit a Rockstar Advisor
Why Having Zero Experience is a Huge Asset
My Competitor Got Funded — Am I Screwed?
The Hidden Treasure of Failed Startups
If It Makes Money, It Makes Sense
Why do VCs Keep Giving Failed Founders Money?
$10K Per Month isn't Just Revenue — It's Life Support
The Ridiculous Spectrum of Investor Feedback
Startup CEOs Aren't Really CEOs
Series A, B, C, D, and E Funding: How It Works
Best Pitch Decks Ever: The Most Successful Fundraising Pitches You Need to Know
When to Raise Funds
Why Aren't Investors Responding to Me?
Should I Regret Not Raising Capital?
Unemployment Cases — Why I LOOOOOVE To Win Them So Much.
How Much to Pay Yourself
Heat-Seeking Missile: WePay’s Journey to Product-Market Fit — Interview with Rich Aberman, Co-Founder of Wepay
The R&D technique for startups: Rip off & Duplicate
Why Some Startups Win.
Chapter #1: First Steps To Validate Your Business Idea
Product Users, Not Ideas, Will Determine Your Startup’s Fate
Drop Your Free Tier
Your Advisors Are Probably Wrong
Growth Isn't Always Good
How to Shut Down Gracefully
How Does My Startup Get Acquired?
Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught?
How to Pick the Wrong Co-Founder
Staying Small While Going Big
Investors are NOT on Our Side of the Table
Who am I Really Competing Against?
Why Can't Founders Replace Themselves?
Actually, We Have Plenty of Time
Quitting vs Letting Go
How Startups Actually Get Bought
What if I'm Building the Wrong Product?
Are Founders Driven by Fear or Greed?
Why I'm Either Working or Feeling Guilty
Startup Financial Assumptions
Why Every Kid Should be a Startup Founder
We Only Have to be Right Once
If a Startup Sinks, Founders Go Down With it
Founder Success: We Need a Strict Definition of Personal Success
Is Quiet Quitting a Problem at Startup Companies?
Founder Exits are Hard Work and Good Fortune, Not "Good Luck"
Finalizing Startup Projections
All Founders are Beloved In Good Times
Our Startup Culture of Entitlement
The Bullshit Case for Raising Capital
How do We Manage Our Founder Flaws?
What If my plan for retirement is "never retire"?
Startup Failure is just One Chapter in Founder Life
6 Similarities between Startup Founders and Pro Athletes
All Founders Make Bad Decisions — and That's OK
Startup Board Negotiations: How do I tell the board I need a new deal?
Founder Sacrifice — At What Point Have I Gone Too Far?
Youth Entrepreneurship: Can Middle Schoolers be Founders?
Living the Founder Legend Isn't so Fun
Why Do VC Funded Startups Love "Fake Growth?"
How Should I Share My Wealth with Family?
How Many Deaths Can a Startup Survive?
This is Probably Your Last Success
Why Do We Still Have Full-Time Employees?
The Case Against Full Transparency
Should I Feel Guilty for Failing?
Always Take Money off the Table
Founder Impostor Syndrome Never Goes Away

Getting Your Idea Going: Share your Startup Business Idea with Everyone

Wil Schroter

Getting Your Idea Going: Share your Startup Business Idea with Everyone

Don’t miss out! Check out the previous editions here:

–Getting Your Idea Going: There is no perfect idea
–Getting Your Idea Going: Popular Excuses for Not Starting
–Getting Your Idea Going: When to Jump Ship
–Getting Your Idea Going: Don’t Quit your Day Job


A long, long time ago—in a galaxy far away, someone invented the myth that if you have a great business idea for a startup, you need to keep it top secret.

That you should shroud it in mystery, several Non-Disclosure Agreements and only share it with someone at a secret location at a prescribed time in a lead room—without any windows.

The myth went on that if someone were to hear your startup business idea—they would steal it!  Ah, the idea thieves and their dastardly ways. The instant the sound waves describing your brilliant idea reach their eardrum—they build it, and then make billions. All while you wallow away into obscurity, ruing the day you made the fatal mistake of sharing it.

C’mon. You saw the Social Network.  You know how this works.  It’s totally true!

Except it’s not. At all.

Share your Startup Business Idea with Everyone

Your BUSINESS Idea Needs Work

The first thing that Founders overlook is that the startup business idea, at its inception, is probably completely and totally wrong. The only way to refine the idea is to share it, break it down and beat it up.

You need to beat up your startup idea with customers, advisors, partners, investors and anyone else who is nice enough to listen to your crazy ranting and provide you with some real feedback.

Not until you’ve shared it with enough people will you have any idea if you are even on the right track.

But Someone Will Steal It!

No, they won’t.  First off, if your idea is so easy to steal and replicate then why can’t someone else do it the day you announce your product?  Do you honestly think that just being the first one to announce it will give you instant protection? It won’t.

Investors won’t steal your business idea. Not sure?  Do some homework and try to find a pattern of investors stealing anyone’s ideas—ever. You literally made that up. But don’t worry, we’ve heard it a million times from other Founders—So, you weren’t the only one!

Share the Meal, not the Recipe

If, in the rare case, you have some secret recipe that you don’t want to share—then don’t.  You don’t have to tell people how the product is made, just what it does.  If no one cares what it does, then your secret recipe is useless anyway.

Later on, you can think about patents and Non-Disclosure Agreements and all of the other defenses that will cost a fortune to both create and defend.  For now, just focus on whether or not anyone but you thinks this is even a useful idea.

Set Your Business Idea Free

What you will find when you start sharing your idea is that it’s probably not the right one. You will inevitably go through 20 iterations of the idea until you find out what you’re really supposed to be pursuing.  In some cases you’ll find out it was an awful idea to begin with, and that’s OK too.

The only way to know if you’ve got the right idea is to share it and set it free.

Find this article helpful?

This is just a small sample! Register to unlock our in-depth courses, hundreds of video courses, and a library of playbooks and articles to grow your startup fast. Let us Let us show you!

Submission confirms agreement to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Already a member? Login

Azhar Hussain

Hi, I have an idea to start a business, where it will be open for only senior citizens and staff too will be senior citizen, it could be anything, GYM, Restaurant, Supermarket, education,

Reply9 months ago

m prashanth

I want to share the startup business idea where I can express it?

methita trakulpoonsub

I do have idea about the business. Any recommendation for a platform where I could share it?

Manolis Nikitaidis

To whom it may concern, I've been working on my idea (on and off) for the past couple of years however it seems that I cant get it of the ground. Is anybody available with extensive and fact based experience on new businesess to help me out?

Israr shaikh

Hello,friends I have an many business idea I can share with you and some can take benefit from that

Arya Kautilya

I want to share my startup idea and need feedback.

2 Replies

Sonali Harisse

Hello, where can i share my business ideas to the public, so that someone can execute it and help society improve?

Register to join the discussion.

Already a member? Login

Create Free Account