Today we’re talking about protecting your idea. A lot of founders ask about how they can protect an idea they have for a startup, usually through a patent or similar.
My advice:
#1. Don’t worry about it.
Most startups need to scream their idea from the rooftops to have any chance of getting people interested. You may believe you have something proprietary in your idea but you should probably not worry about protecting it in the early days.
#2. The best protection is actually to get live.
If your idea is really original, getting customer feedback will only extend your head start on competitors. And perhaps more importantly than protection, you’ll also be able to ensure your idea solves a problem for your customers.
#3. On patents and trademarks.
Lots of founders want to start these processes right after incorporating. For the most part, things like patents aren’t good at getting customers or stopping people from copying you. They are primarily used later in a startup’s life to help protect them from intellectual property lawsuits.
Alright, thanks a lot for watching, and best of luck out there.
