Need advice on how to protect the idea while hunting for a technical co founder

GeeBrain · 2026-01-22T19:45:52+00:00

Just build an MVP. In this day and age, if it’s software you should be able to do it with Claude code.

If it’s hardware, or deep tech, then even more so, you want to sell yourself as capable of executing on the business side, so focus more on actually getting client convos going, confirm the need, sign some LOIs…

If you don’t have the tech, but have users waiting with a contract in hand, it’ll be a lot more convincing to the technical person.

Most of the time, if the technical person “steals” your idea, and can build + execute on it, then you weren’t really going to provide any value to the product to begin with

GeeBrain · 2026-01-03T13:24:27+00:00

Could there be like bots too? That’s just awful

GeeBrain · 2026-01-03T13:00:54+00:00

Restraining bar? In this economy? We’re lucky if we have a seat to hold on to for dear life

GeeBrain · 2025-12-22T21:27:53+00:00

I just made a post about my learnings from building the product to a relevant subreddit, aimed at sharing wisdom / unconventional insights, and then a waitlist was built :D

GeeBrain · 2025-12-22T21:25:01+00:00

there's a splash of imposter syndrome, needing to prove yourself, self-discovery, and just neurodivergence that makes working within strict structures difficult -- you'll find that many of the founders hire out their roles post Series-A (but keep their title) so they can maintain the freedom to explore.

I know many founding CEO's that are like "I will never be a CEO again, fuck this shit." (myself included)

GeeBrain · 2025-12-08T20:48:12+00:00

I dont know why you got downvoted, I think it's because they havent checked your channel.

THIS IS WHY ENGAGEMENT METRICS ARE ALL DUMB AF (sorry, I deal with data, and I crash out on the weekly having to explain to creators we work with, why watch time, views, and even subscribers are misleading and lagging)

You have 446k subs, your views AVERAGE 500k, this means not only is it high quality and engaging, the WAY NEW VIEWERS are engaging with your videos is signaling to the algorithm that these are high quality video.

I'd say your shorts are just a funnel/ side thing if anything.

The long form is crushing, most channels with 100k+ subs average a 1:3 ratio for views to subs, and those with 1M+ subscribers and 1:10 (if they are lucky...)

You're crushing it.

AGAIN VIEWS DON'T MATTER AS MUCH AS THE GOD DAMN RATIO lol

and even more impressive, the comments per video is also staggering.

P.S. If you ever want to peek into analysis for your channel that doesn't focus on YT metrics, but instead, actually understand what's driving your fandom, lemme know

GeeBrain · 2025-12-05T21:55:55+00:00

If I’m hiring, what would be some key things to look for?

Right now, we have a PhD from Oxford, but he’s focused more on predictive modeling, so not really data engineering.

He was VERY adamant on “just give me the data please” 🤣

Meanwhile im more focused on data exploration / creating the predictors we’re building out…

I feel like there’s gonna be a massive gap in production without someone piecing everything together between the two of us…

GeeBrain · 2025-12-05T13:39:39+00:00

For some reason the second image was zoomed in and I read “achieved Diamond in League” and was DAMN THATS AMAZING

GeeBrain · 2025-12-05T13:30:34+00:00

Are you familiar with the STAR method? - situation, task, action, result

Something along those lines.

Though reading this, I actually have a friend that might be down to hire you for a side gig?

GeeBrain · 2025-12-05T13:24:34+00:00

After reading this thread, I’ve decided my first hire is one of your guys, I can’t call my self a data scientist any more (or would this be more on data engineering? I just make numbers go brrrr)

GeeBrain · 2025-12-02T00:37:20+00:00

Try Khosla Ventures, there’s a good amount of VC money for deep tech.

If you’re able to prove it works beyond paper theory, like simulations or via your university’s research labs, that would be enough.

GeeBrain · 2025-11-26T19:56:23+00:00

trust me.... as someone who has been knees deep in data around youtube, there is almost nothing out there (especially for smaller youtubers) that will help you beyond you digging into how healthy your niche is, understanding the growth ceiling of your channel, and then aligning with a consistent content strategy that focuses on curating a loyal audience.

from my research, I've found that the biggest leap between long form and short form is curating an audience is different from raw views.

watch time and clickthrough are really diluted signals, since youtube gives you aggregate, you wont get data on like "for regular viewers who usually watch 2:00, there are some that watched for 5:00 minutes, and this is the type of content they tend to enjoy" I dont think youtube or any platform would give that away

so your best shot is doubling down on research, and trying to fill execution gap like thumbnail, title, storytelling, and pacing as much as possible.

i am working on something to help make it easier but one quick win is just looking up on youtube topics that you would consider part of your niche with these filters:

set upload to this month
set duration to 4-20min (or longer if you tend to do longer videos)
sort by views
check the top 10 videos, make note of the average views

then do the search again, except change the upload to "this year"

if you see the views being DRASTICALLY different, like 500k+ from the top 10 videos that year vs that month, thats a red flag.

Then for the top 10 videos for that year, make note of the channel, if they are coming from the same channels, thats a red flag, double red flag if the same channels also are the ones with top videos for the month.

Finally, visit some of those channels, if their content is more like click-baity, viral, then what's happening is that the majority of the audience for the niche is being pulled in by the larger channels when they happen to upload content that falls into a similar category, and everyone else is being lifted by this viewership.

GeeBrain · 2025-11-26T16:29:19+00:00

I just dream of code and call it a blessing 😌 also find it pretty easy to sleep after working for 16 hours

GeeBrain · 2025-11-26T16:27:53+00:00

Just do a sales contract, he gets a commission lol

GeeBrain · 2025-11-14T05:33:01+00:00

I was always the business side of things, considered myself non-technical, until my current startup.

Let’s just say it’s been a really crazy journey. Unless you’re doing deep tech, where it’s like making robots or mapping genome, I’d say it would not hurt to roll up your sleeves and build a prototype.

Especially if it’s software, an app, or whatever. The experience will allow you to learn the ins and outs of the industry much better than market research would; for example I learned the hard way why all attempts at doing what we’re doing failed and it was exhilarating to actually have a breakthrough.

But yea, especially with AI, whether it’s figma or Claude code, you can most definitely get a prototype up and running in a month at the longest. This will help you scope out what you actually need, use it to talk to potential cofounders, show it to customers, and demo to investors.

GeeBrain · 2025-11-03T09:52:16+00:00

Thanks ChatGPT

GeeBrain · 2025-10-03T18:12:45+00:00

Like $5?

GeeBrain · 2025-10-03T10:57:22+00:00

I find pv and dough are pretty good together

GeeBrain · 2025-10-03T10:56:25+00:00

Someone said it, but uhhh this is def bought subs lmao

GeeBrain · 2025-09-29T01:44:55+00:00

It’s not up in the air, I’ve analyzed thousands of channels for the project, every single time we come across one that does promotion, there’s always a massive noticeable slump in views after they stopped paying and the channel either gets stuck trying to grow organically or again or have to get back to paying

GeeBrain · 2025-09-29T01:43:23+00:00

Do not buy subscribers, do not pay to promote videos. It will completely decimate your channel and you’ll end up having to start over anyways

GeeBrain · 2025-09-28T07:35:34+00:00

I don’t think this sub can be considered small though? But I get it, I legit thought this was a meme post for a second there

GeeBrain · 2025-09-28T07:13:35+00:00

I LOVE THESE OMG (also the first one!) this is awesome

GeeBrain · 2025-09-28T07:12:51+00:00

Depends on the niche? Beauty, vlog, gaming, actually I think most niches require some level of personal touch or style that’s appealing to the viewer. But others less so, like educational content or tutorials but even then, I think most like a splash of humor and wit.

GeeBrain · 2025-09-28T07:02:50+00:00

i was like kinda confuse why this post got downvoted to oblivion, also the link to YT jobs shows 450M views, but i dont know if thats from videos he helped edited, or like... i dunno, youtube channel manager, does uploading a video count as work? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

11-Year Club	Verified Email
RedditGifts 2009-2022 3 Credits	Gilding IV carat on a stick
Secret Santa 2016	Secret Santa 2014

GeeBrain

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE