A friend called me once wanting to discuss a business idea. He’d had a successful corporate career for 15 years. He’s smart, resourceful, and a natural leader. I was super excited about getting to hear about the problem he was focused on, his solution, and his perspective on the space. We agreed on a time to chat and I asked him to send me anything I should read beforehand. He asked me to promise, in writing, to keep the idea secret. I talk with a fair number of people who have ideas and I thought this was odd, but I agreed.

We eventually met and I described my experience building CCAW. Early on, I was like him—hesitant to share my idea. I worried it would be stolen, and also I didn’t want to be questioned about it because there were lots of things I couldn’t answer. My reluctance to share hurt me. I didn’t lose customers, but my progress was slower than it could have been.

As I matured and settled into entrepreneurship, I became more confident and knowledgeable through experience. I began to open up and share my ideas with credible people. And I listened to their feedback. The result? My ideas got better and my company flourished.

Ideas are great, but they’re honestly not worth much. Everybody has ideas. It’s ideas that are acted on that are valuable. The hard part is figuring out how to turn an idea into reality—that is, a company.

After sharing my experience with him, I encouraged my friend to talk with as many credible people as possible about his idea. Sure, someone might try to steal it, but the chances of them executing on it and having success were slim to none. On the other hand, it was quite likely that he would fine-tune his idea or be introduced to someone helpful. My big takeaway: The upside to sharing ideas (with credible people) far outweighs the risks. Share your ideas and be open to feedback—even if you don’t like what you’re hearing. The more you do, the better your ideas will become.

How has sharing helped accelerate your progress?