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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?"

6 of 219 comments (clear)

  1. They're good work if you can get it... by aborchers · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I spent about a year working for a consulting company that was developing the presence for one of these "stealth start-ups". They were certainly not counterevidence to the thesis.

    They spent millions, much of it on our programming fees, as we went through endless iterations of design-as-you-build. We tried repeated to reign them in, get them on a rigorous development process, and convince them to get a basic system live and build from there. They insisted on dotting every i and crossing every t, and rolling out from day one with ridiculous bleeding edge multimedia features that had nothing to do with their business model, before ever revealing the site. All the while we billed them T-and-M. They went broke and dark within a month of their actual debut on the Web.

    It was stupid, frustrating work for a stupid, frustrating client, but the paycheck sure was nice...

    --
    Trouble making decisions? Just flip for it.
    1. Re:They're good work if you can get it... by byteherder · · Score: 5, Insightful


      Could you please post the name of your company, so I can never, ever use your services?

      Does it bother you that you're a parasite?

      I think his point was that good consulting advise can not make up for bad management.

      The reasons startups fail, BAD MANAGEMENT

    2. Re:They're good work if you can get it... by jathan · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You're kidding right. From the parent post it sounds like it went something like this:

      Consultant: Your business idea is stupid.
      Customer: We are brighter than you, take our money and do what we say.

      Repeat.

      At what point does the consultant not become a parasite? He indicated they told the customer it was a dumb idea, multiple times.

      Eventually you just have to except the fact that your customer is stupid and you might as well take the money as compared to someone else taking it.

  2. The non-stealthy way by s20451 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Dear Mr. Gates,

    I have just released a new product to surf the "World Wide Web". I call it "Netscape".

    I think something as important as this should not be kept under wraps. I would appreciate any feedback you may have!

    Yours,
    Marc Andressen

    --
    Toronto-area transit rider? Rate your ride.
  3. Increase your chances of being bought by strongmace · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Be open and perhaps a larger company will buy you. This could open up all sorts of opportunities now that you'll have a larger resource pool (assuming you are still included in the project of course). However, you do have to have a quality deliverable. While being open is very nice, being available for public scrutiny while your product or service is still in its formative stages may be a bit much. You have to draw the line somewhere and balance is important. While getting constructive criticism is great, opening up your project too early could lead to ridicule and hurt your future growth.

    --
    "If we hit that bullseye, the rest of the dominos will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate." -Zapp Brannigan
  4. Redux by DingerX · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Alright, many of the preceding posts have hinted at it, but I'll lay it on the line:

    If you're a startup, you have limited resources across the board. Okay, okay, If you have tons of VC money, feel free to follow his advice, then explain to the VC dudes why you didn't get them the massive ROI they expected two years down the road.

    The worst thing you can do in any business is advertise a product too soon. Whether you're selling the Osbourne 2 or Team Fortress 2, early hype is "the kiss of death".
    A previous poster commented something to the effect of the mantra I've followed for a while: Ideas are cheap; it's execution that matters. TFA seems to think that Ideas are what matters, and that stealth is all about protecting those. While I agree that stealth is a dumb way to protect ideas, it is a great way to shield your staff from "outside distractions" while they execute that idea. And it's also a great way to control the media -- and there's no business in the world that doesn't benefit from positive media control.