Posted by coreyspitzer
When I tell people about Startup Weekend, I am often met with the concern about idea stealing. And while the official FAQ addresses this exact question, I think it’s useful to go a bit more in depth.
First, the majority of successes, failures, and innovations happen in the execution phase. Ideas alone are a dime a dozen. And if you have one that could be stolen and implemented easily, the execution is just that much more important.
Someone else probably had the same idea 5 years ago. You might even find it with a simple web search. Your idea may be more obvious than you think.
Sharing your idea is invaluable. You can get really good feedback from sharing your idea; someone might spot a problem or an opportunity you may not have considered. It’s a good way to further refine and harden your concept. And it’s always better to find out sooner rather than later if your idea is not going to work.
You might also make new connections from sharing your idea. Just last week I had lunch with a someone who had an idea for a mobile app that sounded a lot like something another friend had been working on; my friend had already done a lot of market research and due diligence, etc. So we brainstormed a bit, I offered some suggestions, and passed along some contact info.
And like it or not, your idea will probably evolve into something different (and often something better) once you start working on it with other people. In my experience with Startup Weekend, I’ve found that there is usually a noticeable difference between what is pitched Friday night and what is demo’ed Sunday night because when you put people in a melting pot of vastly different perspectives and experiences, magic tends to happen.
If you’re still not convinced and you still don’t feel comfortable putting your idea out there, don’t. You can still get all the benefits from attending Startup Weekend by pitching an idea you don’t mind letting loose or working on someone else’s idea. But neither Shane nor I have ever heard of anyone stealing an idea as a result of pitching it at Startup Weekend.















Cashing in on the $2,100 prize money, the GiftBright team took an idea that only existed in 



