How stealth hasn't helped us one bit.
Here is a list of 5 reasons being stealth has done nothing but provide problems.
1. Single founder. I'm on my own on this, me myself and I.
2. Harder to convince people that an idea form nowhere is plausible.
3. Seed investment was super hard when I wouldn't even tell investors what I was working on.
4. Lack of new connections. Almost Chinese wall between myself and other Entrepreneurs.
5. Feedback hasn't been allowed from sources that could provide that much needed kick up the arse.
Next time round I'm going to tell the world. Literally, I'm not going to hide one thing and I'm glad I did it this way. It means I will NEVER do it again.
14 comments
[ 3.7 ms ] story [ 19.8 ms ] threadThe thing I like about being "stealth" is that we can make changes without having external expectations to deal with. Probably the only time we'll be able to do this.
Probably because he's almost family more than anything else.
Ha. There I go again, pretending I live around stuff-that-matters. Never come here.
Here is a test to see if your idea is or isn't pursuing: ask yourself if I tell everyone then would I have no competitive advantage? If the answer is 'yes' then don't build it. Here is why: you know when you tell everyone what you're doing? On the day of your launch. So if you have no advantage over anyone after launching, then why do it? You must bring something to the table. Maybe you should think harder about what you are doing at that point.
So immersed with my 'perfect' idea.
We all learn.
As much as we want to be the first to announce or offer our idea, producing a good product is far more important. The honest truth is that you will have competition, no matter how secretive you are. You can't hide the idea if you want to make money.
I agree with abbasmehdi's comment.
It comes in degrees. Your investors probably know, you share your idea with people you trust who can give you feedback and could even have paying customers/beta users and still be in 'stealth' mode as you try to find product market fit.
Stealth mode means you haven't announced anything publicly. Getting customers, investors and advice privately is perfectly okay.
To summarize: You are a single "founder" who got an "investment" from a single person you pitched to, because he's almost like family.
No offence, but what you're describing is not a startup but more of a project you had and didn't complete. It just sounds that way.
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