Founders in stealth / pre-launch - why? (+ dinner in SF!)
It used to be fashionable to be "in stealth," but then our collective wisdom shifted to "launch early and launch often." In my experience, there are two good reasons for this:
The first reason is that it's often more important to figure out whether people want what you're building than it is to figure out whether you can build the best possible version of it. Launching early gives you the opportunity to either pivot or iterate quickly. Launching is learning.
The second reason is that competition just isn't as dangerous as we tend to think. The quote "idea maze" metaphor is apt here. Startups aren't a race. They're a marathon in an idea maze, and you're far more likely to reach a dead end and kill your startup that way than you are to be crushed by a competitor.
Okay, so if launch early and launch often is the 90th percentile advice, there are still cases where it makes sense to stay in stealth later. Also, when you're really, really early, it takes a little bit of time to build a minimum viable or minimum lovable product that you can launch.
I'm curious how people at the early stages are thinking about this!
If you haven't launched yet or you've consciously delayed your launch, are you delaying it intentionally or because you still feel the product isn't ready? Or is there something that you're worried about with launch that you're trying to address before you launch?
Also, if you're in San Francisco and want to connect with other stealth / pre-launch founders, I'm doing a dinner with @Rho (banking + finance for startups) on May 1st, and there are a few spots left! Comment below and I'll reach out.
Replies
I think launch early and launch often is the way to go. However, sometimes staying in the stealth mode helps you focus on what matters. For example in my case the only reason I have not launched yet is because I am trying to close a few customers the "unscalable" way. Once I have sat down with them and have seen them use the product, I would feel more confident to launch it.
Another reason I have not launched on PH yet is be able to focus on the "right things". When you get feedback on your product left and right, sometimes it diverts you from doing the right things. I know building in vacuum is bad but so is the noice as a result of a launch. I am looking to find a balance.
@rajiv_ayyangar please lemme know if you need help in organizing the event.
Product Hunt
@masoodtalha7 "sometimes staying in the stealth mode helps you focus on what matters" - That's a good lens to look at things through. Closing customers by hand is a great way to directly test your positioning.
@rajiv_ayyangar I am a strong believer of being in the "Founder Mode" until you get to your first $million in ARR. Obviously, launching on @Product Hunt is a big part of being in the "Founder Mode" :)
Ahaha I think they underestimate how hard it is to get users
And I'll also add that from founders I've spoken to, they want to be in a position where they have agency to react to big problems, e.g. a new big player coming in that has a similar product, and so wait until they're absolutely ready to launch.
Product Hunt
@benjamin_belay That's an interesting reason that I haven't heard before. In general, I think that fear is unwarranted, but sometimes the big guys do pick up on you and move pretty fast. Generally though, being big is not something to be worried about since you'll generally be able to move faster and be more focused than them.
@benjamin_belay That's such an interesting take. In my mind, and this is gonna sound cold hearted, a company that's still "stealth" is dead in the water if a big player joins the space. Best outcome at that point is try to build to their specs or those of another big fish, and exit as a feature ASAP.
Product Hunt
@benjamin_belay This is totally a thing, especially for first-time founders.
Nonilion
I wish you were doing this either in Vancouver or using @Nonilion
@themisty Let's get some Vancouver events going!
Nonilion
@scott_spanier I am in.
Great thread, Rajiv. I had a similar conversation with my co-founder. In the end, we decided to stay open and actively invite as much feedback as possible on our app. I’d rather be obsessed with our users than the competition, though I can see the value of stealth for IP-centric startups.
Product Hunt
@artinbogdanov "I'd rather be obsessed with our users than the competition" - I want to get that tattooed somewhere.
Lemme know if you've got a free spot for a fly on the wall. 🪰