How to keep product testers from spilling the beans?

[AmazingLarry]

Hey guys,

I'm currently in the process of making some prototypes of my invention, and I want to send them to a few people in my target market to test and provide feedback.

I know that NDAs are typically not recommended here, and it makes sense why. It wouldn't make sense financially for me to take legal action if there was a breach either.
It also seems like an NDA might scare off some people, or they would just sign it and not really read and understand the terms.

Since I will be dealing with these people primarily online, I was thinking about making a simple webpage form that would have some basic agreement terms listed with checkboxes next to them. You would then sign and agree to the terms and submit the form. I thought this would make the terms simple and obvious, so they know what they're not allowed to do; and it would provide some type of mental barrier because they agreed to the terms (even though it's not legally enforceable).

Does this make sense? Is there a better way to do this to deter people from sharing information or showing other people the invention?

 

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[SEBASTlAN]

No one cares enough to talk about it. No one cares enough to steal the idea. Just get the feedback you need and move forward.

That scarcity mentality holds entrepreneurs back, more than intellectual theft ever has.

 

[AmazingLarry]

No one cares enough to talk about it. No one cares enough to steal the idea. Just get the feedback you need and move forward.

That scarcity mentality holds entrepreneurs back, more than intellectual theft ever has.

Yeah makes sense. Thanks for the advice.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

process of making some prototypes of my invention

Hold long did this take? The longer and more complicated the prototypes are, the less you have to worry about. Generally speaking, "idea theft" I think is more of a "boogey man" than a real issue.

 

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[Kevin88660]

Hey guys,

I'm currently in the process of making some prototypes of my invention, and I want to send them to a few people in my target market to test and provide feedback.

I know that NDAs are typically not recommended here, and it makes sense why. It wouldn't make sense financially for me to take legal action if there was a breach either.
It also seems like an NDA might scare off some people, or they would just sign it and not really read and understand the terms.

Since I will be dealing with these people primarily online, I was thinking about making a simple webpage form that would have some basic agreement terms listed with checkboxes next to them. You would then sign and agree to the terms and submit the form. I thought this would make the terms simple and obvious, so they know what they're not allowed to do; and it would provide some type of mental barrier because they agreed to the terms (even though it's not legally enforceable).

Does this make sense? Is there a better way to do this to deter people from sharing information or showing other people the invention?

Stealing ideas is a very overrated concern.

There are hundreds of thousands of ideas floating free online. They are not worth a thing until they have been tested profitable in a market for a period of time.

Most of the time it is not the idea that but details in the execution that is learnt from the experience. Forget about about stealing. They cannot learn until you are willing to coach them side by side.

Only a small of niche of ideas should be guarded away from stealing. Those are low-entry business ideas that by chance happened to be profitable in a niche that no one haven't take notice. It is “grab all the money you can for the next three years” kind of simple business. If you have a big mouth it will end in one year. This is what they call the “get rich silently” kind of small business opportunity.

 

[Kid]

Hold long did this take? The longer and more complicated the prototypes are, the less you have to worry about. Generally speaking, "idea theft" I think is more of a "boogey man" than a real issue.

They are not worth a thing until they have been tested profitable in a market for a period of time.

Just to let you know: Robert Kearns - Wikipedia

 

[AmazingLarry]

Hold long did this take? The longer and more complicated the prototypes are, the less you have to worry about. Generally speaking, "idea theft" I think is more of a "boogey man" than a real issue.

My process of making the prototypes is fairly involved (I'm CNC machining molds for urethane plastic resin), so this isn't something the majority of people could do. That being said, the product itself is simple and could be 3D printed pretty easily even though 3D printing isn't ideal in this scenario. It seems like the consensus is that the risk is pretty low regardless. Thanks for the help.

 

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[AmazingLarry]

Stealing ideas is a very overrated concern.

There are hundreds of thousands of ideas floating free online. They are not worth a thing until they have been tested profitable in a market for a period of time.

Most of the time it is not the idea that but details in the execution that is learnt from the experience. Forget about about stealing. They cannot learn until you are willing to coach them side by side.

Only a small of niche of ideas should be guarded away from stealing. Those are low-entry business ideas that by chance happened to be profitable in a niche that no one haven't take notice. It is “grab all the money you can for the next three years” kind of simple business. If you have a big mouth it will end in one year. This is what they call the “get rich silently” kind of small business opportunity.

Thanks for the advice. My idea might almost fall into this category. It's a simple add-on accessory for an existing product, so there's definitely a chance of it getting copied or becoming obsolete at some point.

I've had this idea for a while and I can execute quickly, so I want to give it a shot. The longer term business will come next