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Comment by brap | Hacker News Reader

Maybe I don’t get it. But it sounds like your entire (theoretical) business depends on you keeping a “secret”, and the moment you accidentally blurt out the secret everything comes crashing down.

If this is indeed the case then you need to question whether or not this is indeed a valuable business. An investor certainly will.

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If I didn't think it was a valuable proposal I would have no qualms sharing it to the world. Eventually if I get no where I probably will since I believe it's a good idea that should be implemented regardless.

No, my business is not reliant on being kept a secret, but my compensation is if I believe people will steal the idea.

The good news is that investors and partners generally don't value ideas (which is why you get the "diminutive" response about ideas), so they probably won't steal yours. They do value businesses, so if you haven't yet proven that your idea is a viable business, it's probably too early for you to be pitching anyway. That doesn't mean you have to have a lot of customers, but it does mean you've engaged your market in some meaningful way that validates your idea. If that's truly the case, then some people out there must have been exposed to your idea. If that's not the case, then your "plan" really is just an idea.

Show the results and how you will achieve them at a business level of detail.

e.g. "I will change parameters A, B and C of widget X" -> "I will optimise widget X to achieve higher throughput of process Y, saving you $Z dollars per widget".

You don't have to get into the details of A, B and C because they shouldn't be relevant in a business conversation.

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