Phillipe, If there is a real secret of successful entrepreneuring, it has almost nothing to do with ideas, good or bad. Good ideas are cheap and easily had (literally "a franc a dozen"), but an effective, seasoned management team is the strongest possible catalyst of successful companies, and is more than worth its weight in gold.
Also, venture capitalists could never hope to succeed if they did not have the trust of those seeking their participation and assistance. I have never known or heard of a reputable VC "stealing" an idea and developing it themselves or via one of their portfolio companies. To do so would "cut off the nose to spite the face." (This is based of my knowledge and experience of established VC firms in the US, UK, and Germany.) Further, any idea that is simple or "obvious" and thus must rely solely upon "time to market" to establish a solid business rarely succeeds without an enormous "warchest" of capital since anyone with a better implementation or better marketing can destroy any hope you might have of success. This is a lesson Microsoft and AOL both know quite well. -- Rob Raisch - lead analyst @ www.raisch.com Muscular Business Intelligence
