Don’t Worry About Giving Your Idea Away. Validating Your Startup Is More Important

Market research is key to proving your concept. Yet many founders are afraid their ideas will be stolen in the process

Remember that beginning scene in “The Social Network” when, after getting dumped by his girlfriend, Mark Zuckerberg hurries back to his Harvard dorm room and instantly comes up with the idea for Facemash, soon to be Facebook.

Well, maybe this happens once in a blue moon. But for most entrepreneurs, life is not a movie.

The majority of founders that successfully launch a business do not arrive at an idea with instant traction.

Most successful startup founders are typically in one of two positions: Some happen to have years of experience in an industry, can clearly identify an industry-wide problem and are uniquely positioned to solve that problem.

And the majority of other successful founders — especially first-timers — do the necessary market research to find product-market fit.

You may not believe it, but most successful founders are doing months of market research before they actually launch their product or company.