When you’re starting out, it’s impossible to completely map out the idea maze. But there are some places you can look for help:

History. If your idea has been tried before (and almost all good ideas have), you should figure out what the previous attempts did right and wrong.

The benefits of learning about the maze generally far outweigh the risks of having your idea stolen.

Analogy. You can also build the maze by analogy to similar businesses.

Theories. There are now decades of historical data on tech startups, and smart observers have sifted through to develop theories that generalize that data

Direct experience. A lot of good startup founders figure out the maze through direct experience, often at work.

Your real competition – and what you should worry about – is the years you could waste going down the wrong path.