YOUR IDEA IS STOLEN

All entrepreneurs are sure that they are on to the next big thing since sliced bread. They are also equally sure that their venture would become really huge in no time and that they themselves would be the next Warren Buffet.

Unfortunately, nine out of ten startups fail to make it big. They close down, get bought out, or remain really small forever. Getting bought out is okay in many cases, and remaining small is also not a bad deal. The real show-stopper, then, is the prospect of closing down. What are the most common reasons for startups closing down, and how can you circumvent them?

Your idea is stolen

Ask anyone wanting to start out and they are sure to tell you that the key to their success is their idea. All of them believe that theiridea is so unique and so ground-breaking that many are afraid to discuss the idea with anyone, least it is stolen. In essence, they fear failure from someone stealing their idea.

You only need to look around to understand that this is one of the biggest misnomers about entrepreneurship. Let us, for the moment, accept that your idea is indeed ground-breaking. Assume that you have also kept it a grand secret and have come out with your product or service. What next? How much time will it take for a competitor to come up with a better product, learning from the mistakes you made? If your product is hot, how much time will it take for someone in China to mass-produce it? If you product is a medicine, how many months before someone right here in India comes out with a generic?

If you look around, you will find enough evidence that the first-mover or original inventor advantage does not always work out the way it has been advertised. Consider the GUI for today’s computer. It was created at Xerox Corporation’s Palo Alto Research Centre, but was made popular by Apple in their Lisas and Macs. But who really made money out of the GUI? Microsoft, many years later with Windows, and that too after many attempts! While on the topic of technology products, let us look at a few more examples. Who came up with the idea of a portable music player? Who created the first portable music player? Who cares? But who made the most money off portable music players? One of the last entrants in the field—Apple. Who came up with the first cellphone? Motorola. Who is lord of the cellphone business? Nokia. Or is that Apple? Where is Motorola now? Struggling.

The often held belief that letting your idea out is a stepping stone to failure is wrong. It is not the idea, but the execution that matters. And there, you need to learn from the successes and mistakes, particularly the mistakes of others who went before you. Nanos gigantium humeris insidentes (Successful ones are dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants).