My company went through this recently. We listened to the advice of experts (PG, Venturehacks, VCs, etc.) who told us that nobody cared about your idea. Serio

My company went through this recently. We listened to the advice of experts (PG, Venturehacks, VCs, etc.) who told us that nobody cared about your idea. Seriously. Nobody is going to steal your idea, for the simple reason that it's not original. Just focus on the execution and strategy. Don't waste your efforts thinking you have the neatest, coolest idea ever. Also realize this: if/when you submit to a VC, it's likely that they have another, similar, company in their portfolio. Are you going to worry about them sending your idea to a potential competitor? Because no VC will sign an NDA. You're going to have to share your idea sooner or later. If it's later, then you're relying on your competitive advantage being the 6 month head start. Which isn't really that much of an advantage. There's enough for you to worry about right now w/o concerning yourself with secrets. (note: this doesn't necessarily apply if you're in a biotech industry, or something that really protects trade secrets. Most IT/web tech startups aren't like this). edit: and, if somebody DOES copy your idea, look to it as validation that the original idea was a good one! Now go out-execute them!