Please don’t say you’re in stealth mode
At The Cultivated Word, I’ve been fortunate to work with some amazing startups like Skillshare, Grasshopper, Chargify, Swellr, and many, many others. The entrepreneurs behind all of these ventures have provided a lot of insight into what it takes to make a product successful. The piece of advice that I have heard from all of them time and again about launching a business? Don’t become obsessed with staying in “stealth mode.” As a matter of fact, don’t ever declare yourself in “stealth mode.” Share your idea with others to get feedback instead of protecting it like a delicate flower. If you’re really fearful someone’s going to come along and steal your idea, you’re operating under a fall sense of security; based on my experience, it seems like you should always operate under the assumption that someone else is out there developing a product like (or better than) yours all the time. It makes you better at what you do.
Even at this super early point in time, I’m trying to use this philosophy to guide how I build dress.me—by sharing the idea with as many people as I can (obviously, you want to avoid foisting your idea on unsuspecting individuals/victims in some situations) because it makes your product better. If you’re fan of lean startup concepts, you’ll probably like this idea even more, because not being in stealth mode means more potential customer feedback, and ultimately, a better product.
Also, keep this in mind when you’re past the initial stages of getting something live and focusing on developing marketing for your startup. This is a side of the process I am most familiar with because of my experience with running The Cultivated Word. Don’t hold back from your copywriters, creatives and others tasked with marketing your product—let them know what you’re thinking, even if you’re not entirely sure what the future may hold. After all, they’re the experts and can help sort through the intellectual debris and develop amazing marketing concepts from it. If you trust their expertise enough to hire them, let them do their respective jobs!
Whether you’re trying to evangelize your product at the early stages of your venture or marketing it, I’ve learned things work out better when you don’t hold back. If you share your goals with others (even if it’s a big picture concept), they’ll help make them a reality.
