If it is as good in practice as it is in principle, we will take it public. CSC, you do the hard stuff, the analysis, and take the early money risk. If everything is OK at that point we will take you out and everyone will make money. Thus, we usually find ourselves back at square one. As venture capitalists, if we had a choice, we would rather deal with poor management that will accept guidance, than get in bed with a brilliant partner who is constantly concerned that someone is attempting to pilfer his idea.
Protective instincts can be overblown, they also take people's eyes off the ball.
We are in the business of building companies, not walls. We will do everything within our power to protect the projects proprietary aspects, but we have found that the best intellectual property insurance is good management. Wall manufacturers can be found in the yellow pages. Knowledge of the entrepreneur's track record in previous dealings is extremely important. For the most part, our core professionals are unable to evaluate the schemes of brilliant people who practice the art, in domains that are alien to financial people.