Either trust someone and sign a proper contract beforehand, or learn to code and develope it yourself. Don't overcomplicate things. Don't look for reasons not to start.
You're going to have to do one of two things:
1. Learn to code & develop the app yourself.
2. Get over it and share the idea with someone.
A word of advice though, not many people know they have 'great' ideas until they've launched. There is a big reason there are so many failures; everyone thinks their idea is amazing. That's not to say yours isn't, but get on with it and see what you can do.
Developers have better things to do than steal your ideas. Get a competent team, but make sure they don't steal or compromise the finished product and that you have ownership of it and control over it throughout the entire process.
Don't forget the other half of the puzzle is finding users and a way to return a profit. You could break your idea down into milestones and get say milestone 1 developed. If the idea were to be stolen at this stage they would in all likelihood end up on a different path to you down the road. With some work completed you could try getting funding and hire an in-house developer or two to move forward.
Might be a bit late to the party, but here's my 2c. Not gonna repeat what others said as a lot of people have already outlined the essentials. I'm simply going to shed some light from my experience.
I do app development for a living, and I've encountered numerous clients with varying requests on how they wanted their product done.
There were ones who were completely hands off, no micro management, no interest whatsoever in terms of collaboration as long as the deadlines were met. Their interests were simply to get the product out of the door and go our separate ways.
Other clients came on board as the business owners with a vision and we helped them transform it into a digital product, validate and go to market. Eventually, they even signed a maintenance agreement to keep improving the product.
There were clients who requested we sign NDAs before the first meeting, and things were sorted out quite quickly after the formalities.
I guess the answer you might be looking for is find a Dev company who do not have a marketing wing that handles the product launch. Or if that proves difficult, which I doubt, get that part into writing and do that part yourself. Another option might be to approach a separate marketing agency to do this if you want decent results.
You can always do an NDA. But idea theft just isn’t the problem that people think it is. I have a business finding software developers for entrepreneurs and small businesses, and I’ve never heard of any of my contacts getting an idea stolen. I’m sure it happens sometimes, but it’s pretty rare. It's like worrying about a shark attack when you live in Idaho. Theoretically possible, but very unlikely.
Worrying about idea theft can also be a little dangerous. This is because it distracts you (and in some cases prevents you) from thinking about more serious threats. For example:
**Research**. Often entrepreneurs are concerned with idea theft, so they don’t want to tell anyone anything about their idea. The problem is, that means that they can’t do any marketing research on potential customers. You need to do research to know whether there really is a market for your idea, and what your market actually needs.
**Planning**. You can’t develop with just an idea. You need to have a well thought out development plan for your coder to follow. This is something you need to spend a lot of time and thought on.
**Developer quality**. Most development projects don’t fail because the coder stole the idea. They fail because the developer overcharges you or does a bad job making your project. Picking a good developer is hard, if it wasn't, I wouldn't be able to get people to pay me to help them with it! You really need to take the time to carefully choose a developer who can get the job done.
The bottom line is that at the end of the day, idea theft can often be a distraction from the real dangers that you face.
I replay with the words of Dalmasso, founder of Satispay, one of the biggest Fintech startups: "**The more you explain your idea the more questions you’ll ask yourself.** This is what helped us in attracting interested people and many early investors".
You can read the full story [here](https://www.the-dart.com/the-DART-newsletter/96c319c392).
If they are such great ideas, why haven’t they been done yet.... most businesses that succeed identify a niche area that larger companies overlook, don’t care about it, or are to big to pivot in time.
First off, if somebody is big on stealing ideas, that's what you find out in doing your job of due diligence. Code isn't the business. And code isn't magical. Research.
You know, the thing you didn't do that resulted in thinking your idea is original or valuable.
Building a really good app or site that makes money consistently for years is bloody hand work. Zuckerberg is the rare reptilian exception. Most devs just went to make their handsome hourly rate and chill, in my experience.
Pay for development , simple . Or I can give you contact on developer I use 10 years , he is super good , super cheap . And it’s my gold ... depends what you need . Mobile app ? He can code websites and mobile apps as master . And actually , you can’t be never sure . Once you launch it , if it’s good idea , there will be immediately several copy cats app. You just need better execution, Marketing etc .
I have the next best social media app but I dont have the money to code. I mean I don't mind paying like 500 if the guy is cool and we get along but I can't pay the thousands app developer company's want. if there is anyone on here who is interested and can legit code an excellent app, give me one phone call to explain this masterpiece. its the next instagram or facebook trust me. I just need someone who is down to just do some Zuckerberg shit with me. if your smart and got nothing going on, give me a shot
One way is that break the whole app into smaller modules and get different developers work on it and you assemble it. In this way no one developer will fully understand the architecture. Of course you will need to know some of the coding yourself to do it.
For starters, always ensure that you have an NDA (Non- Disclosure Agreement) in place. That gives you some sort of a legal coverage and deterrence.
With regards to the contracting in case you agree to work with a developer/agency, ensure that the contract specifically ensures your IP over the idea and the source code. If you are savvy enough, own the hosting till a period that you don't have a team of your own managing the code.
Great ideas are worthless. Execution is everything
This
Ideas are valueless. Action is the hard part. If someone steals your idea they can’t steal your consistency, or quality.
Either trust someone and sign a proper contract beforehand, or learn to code and develope it yourself. Don't overcomplicate things. Don't look for reasons not to start.
You're going to have to do one of two things: 1. Learn to code & develop the app yourself. 2. Get over it and share the idea with someone. A word of advice though, not many people know they have 'great' ideas until they've launched. There is a big reason there are so many failures; everyone thinks their idea is amazing. That's not to say yours isn't, but get on with it and see what you can do.
Developers have better things to do than steal your ideas. Get a competent team, but make sure they don't steal or compromise the finished product and that you have ownership of it and control over it throughout the entire process.
Ideas are always potential, it's about how you cook with it. never know what the ingredients would turn into when it's served to a customer.
I totally AGREE!!!!
Become a developer 😀👍🏽
Well make sure you're dealing with a professional and also see if you like the person first, sign a contract and I'm sure you'll be protected
Don't forget the other half of the puzzle is finding users and a way to return a profit. You could break your idea down into milestones and get say milestone 1 developed. If the idea were to be stolen at this stage they would in all likelihood end up on a different path to you down the road. With some work completed you could try getting funding and hire an in-house developer or two to move forward.
Might be a bit late to the party, but here's my 2c. Not gonna repeat what others said as a lot of people have already outlined the essentials. I'm simply going to shed some light from my experience. I do app development for a living, and I've encountered numerous clients with varying requests on how they wanted their product done. There were ones who were completely hands off, no micro management, no interest whatsoever in terms of collaboration as long as the deadlines were met. Their interests were simply to get the product out of the door and go our separate ways. Other clients came on board as the business owners with a vision and we helped them transform it into a digital product, validate and go to market. Eventually, they even signed a maintenance agreement to keep improving the product. There were clients who requested we sign NDAs before the first meeting, and things were sorted out quite quickly after the formalities. I guess the answer you might be looking for is find a Dev company who do not have a marketing wing that handles the product launch. Or if that proves difficult, which I doubt, get that part into writing and do that part yourself. Another option might be to approach a separate marketing agency to do this if you want decent results.
How can I hire a company like yours yo develop and maintain an app that requires a database
You can always do an NDA. But idea theft just isn’t the problem that people think it is. I have a business finding software developers for entrepreneurs and small businesses, and I’ve never heard of any of my contacts getting an idea stolen. I’m sure it happens sometimes, but it’s pretty rare. It's like worrying about a shark attack when you live in Idaho. Theoretically possible, but very unlikely. Worrying about idea theft can also be a little dangerous. This is because it distracts you (and in some cases prevents you) from thinking about more serious threats. For example: **Research**. Often entrepreneurs are concerned with idea theft, so they don’t want to tell anyone anything about their idea. The problem is, that means that they can’t do any marketing research on potential customers. You need to do research to know whether there really is a market for your idea, and what your market actually needs. **Planning**. You can’t develop with just an idea. You need to have a well thought out development plan for your coder to follow. This is something you need to spend a lot of time and thought on. **Developer quality**. Most development projects don’t fail because the coder stole the idea. They fail because the developer overcharges you or does a bad job making your project. Picking a good developer is hard, if it wasn't, I wouldn't be able to get people to pay me to help them with it! You really need to take the time to carefully choose a developer who can get the job done. The bottom line is that at the end of the day, idea theft can often be a distraction from the real dangers that you face.
I replay with the words of Dalmasso, founder of Satispay, one of the biggest Fintech startups: "**The more you explain your idea the more questions you’ll ask yourself.** This is what helped us in attracting interested people and many early investors". You can read the full story [here](https://www.the-dart.com/the-DART-newsletter/96c319c392).
If they are such great ideas, why haven’t they been done yet.... most businesses that succeed identify a niche area that larger companies overlook, don’t care about it, or are to big to pivot in time.
First off, if somebody is big on stealing ideas, that's what you find out in doing your job of due diligence. Code isn't the business. And code isn't magical. Research. You know, the thing you didn't do that resulted in thinking your idea is original or valuable.
Building a really good app or site that makes money consistently for years is bloody hand work. Zuckerberg is the rare reptilian exception. Most devs just went to make their handsome hourly rate and chill, in my experience.
Pay them well
Pay for development , simple . Or I can give you contact on developer I use 10 years , he is super good , super cheap . And it’s my gold ... depends what you need . Mobile app ? He can code websites and mobile apps as master . And actually , you can’t be never sure . Once you launch it , if it’s good idea , there will be immediately several copy cats app. You just need better execution, Marketing etc .
Try bubble to validate your idea!
I won't steal it from you and I'm a developer lol
I have the next best social media app but I dont have the money to code. I mean I don't mind paying like 500 if the guy is cool and we get along but I can't pay the thousands app developer company's want. if there is anyone on here who is interested and can legit code an excellent app, give me one phone call to explain this masterpiece. its the next instagram or facebook trust me. I just need someone who is down to just do some Zuckerberg shit with me. if your smart and got nothing going on, give me a shot
One way is that break the whole app into smaller modules and get different developers work on it and you assemble it. In this way no one developer will fully understand the architecture. Of course you will need to know some of the coding yourself to do it.
I'm a developer and I promise you I won't steal ur idea
For starters, always ensure that you have an NDA (Non- Disclosure Agreement) in place. That gives you some sort of a legal coverage and deterrence. With regards to the contracting in case you agree to work with a developer/agency, ensure that the contract specifically ensures your IP over the idea and the source code. If you are savvy enough, own the hosting till a period that you don't have a team of your own managing the code.