Does Being In Stealth Mode Damage Your Business? | Hacker News Reader

Does Being In Stealth Mode Damage Your Business?

blog.mixergy.com

4 pointsmelvinram10 comments

IMO: Launching early saves you from building the wrong product. First version of BrainBankHQ.com was the wrong product. I found that out 2 weeks (48 hrs of dev time) into the venture. v2 (current) is closer but still the wrong product (200+ hrs investd). v3 (in dev) will likely be the right/marketable product.

That's fast.

On the opposite end, I just talked to a co-founder of a VC-backed company who told me they took their funding and built a company in a vacuum. When they released, the product was a monster that couldn't be made into a prince.

I'm planning to interview him about it but it's touchy because he doesn't want to hurt the investors or the company.

What about obligations to external parties, though? Family, VCs, employees, whatever -- one may not have enough leeway to fail on the first few shots. What was your situation?

No employees or VCs. Family doesn't care what I do as long it's what I want to do and gets the bills paid. They trust me to do the smart thing. I think quitting when you're only down by $100 at a casino is a smart thing.

What are your key metrics? Is there a way to test the market without significant development time?

My key metric is simple: When i talk to potential customers, how ready are they to shell out money?

My sales approach is very consultative and consists of asking lots of questions. It's usually clear whether BrainBank is right for them or not... both to me and them.

Ah, I had assumed you would have had an automated sales process -- I didn't realize your sales channel would involve actually talking with your customers. I'm really intrigued by the idea of creating marketing campaigns and sites before you build the product, but I can see how that might not apply to your niche.

Eventually, it may all be automated and online... but for now, I need real feedback.

I wonder how much of it is "fear of having the idea stolen", and how much of it is perfectionism and fear of failure. Anyone with any experience isn't worried about "having an idea stolen". But many, probably most, entrepreneurs are still perfectionists to some degree.

Agreed. Perfectionism is a disease that has no cure... but it certainly can be managed.

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