Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Do Stealth Startups Suck?

Posted by timothy on from the so-secret-we-ourselves-do-not-know dept.

glinden writes "In 'Stealth Startups Suck,' Bloglines CEO Mark Fletcher argues that 'stealth mode for a web start-up is the kiss of death.' He says that moving quickly and getting feedback from early users is much more important than protecting the core idea or trying to launch a perfect product. Is there any good reason for a web startup to not be open about what it is doing? What about other kinds of software startups? What about hardware startups?"

4 of 219 comments (clear)

  1. Lets see how well it works for comments. by Rei · · Score: 4, Funny

    This comment intentionally left blank (for now - come back later!)

    --
    The War of 1812... the good 'ol days when the federal government actually tried to save New Orleans.
  2. Your ideas intrigue me and I wish to subscribe... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...to your newsletter. Put me down for $100,000.

  3. Re:I somewhat agree with him by Foolomon · · Score: 3, Funny
    While I agree with him in general, one thing you need to be aware of is: Be careful that advertising before your product is ready doesn't tarnish your company's reputation. While such a thing can be turned around later, it can easily kill your company early on.

    Well, I keep spending $49.95 on my pre-release, pre-advance version of Duke Nukem Forever in hopes that it'll come out sooner, so maybe advertising your product (wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy yyyyyyyy) before it's ready isn't such a bad thing after all.

  4. obquote by sshore · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm reminded of a quote:

    "Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats."
    -- Howard Aiken