How to verify that your idea is good with out getting it stolen?

[CallMeWonder]

I have which I think is a good idea for a Fastlane but I dont know who to ask to find out whether it is....I just think someones gonna steal it or something because its gonna take me a bit to get it started.

So I was wondering where I should go to ask someone's opinion on it?

Or is someone on here willing to be honest with me and exchanging PMs regarding the topic?

Thanks a lot guys.

 

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[Rickson9]

Easy. Get a customer to pay you. If you can't get a paying customer, the idea is worthless (to you).

 

[Darkside]

Easy. Get a customer to pay you. If you can't get a paying customer, the idea is worthless (to you).

But, it takes a lot of time and money investment to get to the launch point. So, instead of wasting time and money on a bad idea, it's good to get some feedback before starting.

CallMeWonder -

I would suggest that you ask your family members only. They're the least likely to steal your idea. Ask your brother, sister, mother, father, etc. what they think of the idea and if they see anything that you're missing, whether good or bad.

If they like the idea, proceed but spend as little time and money validating the concept before going full force. What I mean is don't spend a year and $30,000 trying to find out if your idea can work when you can do it in a month with $300. Once you start getting those initial customers, then you can devote more time and money to it.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Message me, Ill give you a quick opinion.

Contact

But please, don't expect anything more than that. =)

 

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[Likwid24]

I have which I think is a good idea for a Fastlane but I dont know who to ask to find out whether it is....I just think someones gonna steal it or something because its gonna take me a bit to get it started.

The chances of someone stealing your idea are slim to none. A majority of people in this world are slowlaners and sidewalkers. They will probably think about stealing your idea but will never take action on it because of the time, effort and money involved. You see so many people on this forum come up with some really interesting ideas but never act on them. And this is the fastlane forum, where people are not only suppose to come up with ideas, but act on them!!!

I had an idea for a product for so long and never did anything with it or told anyone about it except for a couple of people who were close to me. After a while I said "Screw that! No ones going to steal my idea and if they do, I'll just do it better!". I decided to act on my idea but before I did that, I needed to know if would be something that people would want or need. Then I had to see if there was a big enough market for it.

What I did was ask anyone I knew what they thought of it. Mostly friends and family. Then some people I knew in my industry. Even some strangers. I Received all positive results so I decided to go for it. And guess what. Out of the hundred or so people that know my idea, not one person stole it or even think about stealing it, to my knowledge at least. There's way to much time, effort and risk involved and a overwhelming majority of people in this world will not even think about taking a chance. All I heard people say is "That's a great idea! When you make it, I'm buying one! or two or three!".

If you don't feel comfortable telling everyone about, at least tell people who you know that do not have the fastlane mentality. I'm sure you know plenty of people like that.

Good Luck! Go for It!

 

[CallMeWonder]

Thank you for the advice. This is very valuable to the 16 year old.

 

[domular]

I would suggest that you ask your family members only. They're the least likely to steal your idea. Ask your brother, sister, mother, father, etc. what they think of the idea and if they see anything that you're missing, whether good or bad.

Any opinions other than someone giving you money are completely meaningless. Family is the worse because they probably aren't your customers and any opinions they give are tainted with their own views good or bad.

Set up a web site and describe the idea as best as you can and offer a sign up to be a beta tester. If you can't get people to do that then quit there.

As far as someone stealing your idea chances are next to zero. Ideas are plentiful, action is what's rare.

 

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[Darkside]

Any opinions other than someone giving you money are completely meaningless. Family is the worse because they probably aren't your customers and any opinions they give are tainted with their own views good or bad.

Set up a web site and describe the idea as best as you can and offer a sign up to be a beta tester. If you can't get people to do that then quit there.

As far as someone stealing your idea chances are next to zero. Ideas are plentiful, action is what's rare.

The problem with that is plenty of people are willing to be beta testers or free users but not necessarily paying customers. JamesF experienced that same issue when he launched Fendza. He had plenty of customers using the free version of his software, but no one was willing to upgrade to be a paid users to get more features. So, if you get a bunch of people to sign up to be beta testers, it doesn't necessarily mean that these people will become paying customers, so he could end up wasting his time building a service that won't earn him any money only due to positive feedback from beta testers.

 

[Battleship]

I'd ask a person I trust in... In any case, I wouldn't ask somebody I met on the internet - this way, your idea is most likely to be stolen...

 

[Likwid24]

Any opinions other than someone giving you money are completely meaningless. Family is the worse because they probably aren't your customers and any opinions they give are tainted with their own views good or bad

I don't believe this to be completely true. I guess it depends on what your family is like. Their opinion can be biased. You have to ask the right people when it comes to your family and friends. Don't just ask anyone, ask the ones that are familiar with your particular field.


About the whole beta thing - The kid never once mentioned that it was a website. It very well could be but it could also be an new product, APP or B&M biz.

No matter what, the least of his worries should be someone stealing the idea.

 

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[ManWithABeard]

It's already been said plenty of times by my fellow fastlaners, but I'll say it too, it would be rare for someone to steal your idea and run with it. Let alone, they be wildly successful with said stolen idea.

It's funny, because, my girlfriend had just asked me a few nights ago while we were talking business "you're not worried someone's going to steal your ideas?" I said "well, if someone steals my idea and becomes successful off of it before me, well they must be a harder worker than I am".

Just like it takes a ton of hard work and due diligence to work your own, original idea? Takes the same amount of hard work and due diligence to work on a stolen idea. I wouldn't worry about it if I were you.

 

[Anon3587x]

I think being an entrepreneur comes with a psychological mindset that advances through levels.

If you're still worrying about people 'stealing' your ideas, you are still at the 'newb' stage. But then again, if you're 16 you are ahead of the game.

 

[Brootal]

In my opinion, unless you are creating a brand new product that no one has ever heard of, or trying to invent a market, you should be able to find something similar enough to have a good enough feeling as to whether or not you idea will work.

Is there a similar product or service out there? Are people paying for it? Then your idea has a good chance of working out.

 

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[czach41]

Is there a cheap way you can "test" the idea?

 

[jfub]

Is there a cheap way you can "test" the idea?

You can create surveys and dispersed them to your target market. Genuine, relevant feedback is probably your best approach with a low budget.

Market Research Surveys - Online Market Research from AYTM

-Joe

 

[Rickson9]

If you can't get a customer to pay you to make it then it's useless IMHO.

 

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[ManWithABeard]

If you can't get a customer to pay you to make it then it's useless IMHO.

This is very true.

 

[lleone]

A very cheap way to test your idea especially online is if you put together a quick website (very inexpensive) and use google adwords or something similar to test what kind of traffic you get. You can even have an order page to see if people will actually try to order (you can simply give a message at that point that you will contact once available to order).

Good luck.

 

[ZDS]

I think people confuse sharing their "process" or "execution" with sharing there idea. Google when starting out, probably shared their IDEA, about revolutionizing search with thousands of people. They, however, did not share their algorithm, or theoretical idea on how they were going approach search. This is an important fundamental difference.

 

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