Keep your app idea secret

Without realization your app concept is worth nothing and without feedback your app concept cannot be realized.

Ideas are cheap

It is traditionally said of companies that the idea is everything.
That's why everyone thinks they have invented the new Facebook and they keep their app idea secret.
Many patent companies earn millions from companies/individuals who are afraid of losing ideas (while they will never be implemented).
In other words: A good idea creates millions. The rest doesn't matter.
Reality, however, is different. Good ideas rarely have anything to do with the growth or success of start-ups.
Moreover, ideas are rarely actually implemented and if they are implemented, 90% fail.
Many companies started with a completely different concept: Nokia was a shoemaker, Pinterest an e-commerce start-up and Sony started selling rice cookers.
Starting these businesses has led to finding real problems and opportunities in the market.
Successful startups don't necessarily start with great ideas, they start with a real problem and iterate over the solution.

Novelty is the smallest factor of success

Many new entrepreneurs think they have their... have to keep the app idea secretbecause they invented something new. This is because most products that change the market are innovative. However, the reality is that an innovative idea is the smallest factor of success. As examples: There were eleven search engines before Google, electric cars before Tesla and MP3 players before the iPod. The problem with inventions is that there is no market for them. Even if you are the first, it may take years before the technology is cheap and accessible enough for consumers. What Google and Facebook did well was step into an existing market and excelled in execution.

Execution creates the best ideas

Clay Christensen, one of Silicon Valley's most influential individuals, concluded:

Startups that succeed simply have enough money left over to implement their second concept.

The reason many start-ups change their concept is because their first idea didn't fit the market and the real user. For example, YouTube first started as a dating site. It is important to put your idea on the market as quickly as possible validate. That way it doesn't even matter if people steal your idea, because your idea has already changed by the time they finish their first iteration.

What should you do then?

As Chris Dixon pointed out in one of his best posts, your idea should be shared with anyone who will listen. These are investors, entrepreneurs, people from similar industries, friends, people on the street and people from the local coffee shop. In this way:

You get lots of suggestions for improvements.
You discover many mistakes in your draft.
Learn more about the industry/sector.
Learn more about your competition.
Do you gauge the enthusiasm about certain features.
Do you practice your investment pitch.
Or do you find out that your idea is rubbish and you save a number of years of work.

The more you talk about your idea, the more you learn. You receive feedback, criticism, inspiration and helpful contacts. Even if your idea is super unique, people will still think it's a stupid idea, like most successful start-ups. No reason to keep your app idea a secret. For example, Steve Jobs begged HP (Hewlett-Packerd) five times to realize the Apple 1.

People who execute don't steal ideas

The reality is that everyone has business potential, but only a few execute it. The reason for this is that people lack the drive, do not want to take the risk or have too little willpower. Real entrepreneurs have plenty of ideas and often work on too much to even have time to spare. Large companies do not take the risk of investing in early stage concepts. If Google and Facebook start stealing your idea, you are often already successful. Google copied Facebook (and failed), Facebook copied Snapchat (and failed), and Microsoft copied the iPad (and failed). That is why large companies prefer to buy your company when it is successful. Google tried to buy up Facebook and Facebook tried to buy up Snapchat.

About NDAs

No serious investor will sign any form of NDA and asking an investor to do so is a sign that you are an amateur entrepreneur. Imagine you come up with an idea whose basis is a webshop. No investor will sign your NDA because there is a risk that they will miss out on similar concepts in the future. Moreover, NDAs are difficult, if at all, to enforce.