Lately, a series of tweets have caught my attention. Both from a visual and mental perspective. And that’s the idea of promoting that you’re building in stealth mode… 🥷🏻
What is stealth mode?
Stealth mode is when you have an idea for a product or service and keep it a secret. 💡
Why do people operate in stealth mode?
Some people want to improve their idea(s) before putting them out into the world. Others are worried someone else will steal their idea(s). Most are simply signaling that they have a secret. 🤫
No idea is going to be perfect.
I get it. Collecting your thoughts and creating a good solution takes time. But without socializing your idea, you won’t have all the facts needed to understand the problem. 📈
You need feedback.
How do you know your idea has merit if you haven’t spoken to potential users? And no, your family and friends are not users. Even if they are potential users, exclude them. They are likely to give you a bias opinion. 💁🏻♀️
Do some research.
The only way to get these facts is to collect data through research. Early on, you can conduct interviews, surveys and create pretotypes. But you need to socialize the idea. 🎙
Unexpected things may happen.
When you socialize your idea(s), things happen. You may meet people who can help. If they have resources and are interested in the problem you are solving, you have an ally. And if they don’t, no big deal. 🤷
What if they steal the idea?
If nobody’s interested in riffing or stealing your idea, it’s probably not worth your time. Competition creates a sense of urgency. And this anxiety may be just what you need. 🙀
A group of friends were discussing an idea. And one of the guys had been talking and talking and talking. But never doing. Eventually, one of them took the idea, got a cofounder, raised money, and built a team. The guy who had the idea was fuming.😤
He complained to everyone that would listen. Eventually, he had another idea and started building. Now two successful companies are working on an important problem. 😎
And if you’re in the group that advertises a secret, but you’re not telling. Grow up!
Getting feedback from others helps you iterate.
The quicker you can iterate, the faster you can reach product-market fit. And this saves time, money, and energy. The alternative is working on your great idea for months or years and realizing you crashed and burned a long time ago without realizing it. Truly stealth mode...
Thanks for reading!
All the best,
Roy Naquin
P.S. Did someone forward you this article? Want more?
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