Fred Wilson over at AVC again hits it on the head (I suppose that’s part of why he’s so successful). Sharing what you know and are thinking with the crowds is a better way to gain market traction than by locking it up. Information Friction is often the biggest turn-off for a potential client. The thought of “what aren’t they telling me” can be a bug that destroys an entire relationship.
Intellectual Property has no value if it isn’t being used in practice. Similarly you have no way to quickly and thoroughly test an idea without putting it into the larger marketplace. Put the two together and the release of the information will act more like a rocket taking off.
Sure, there’s a new element of risk in the equation – you have to execute better than anyone else in the market can. But you have the advantage of being the first into the marketplace of ideas. Being the one with the idea holds value above just executing on an idea. That power of compounding interest.