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The PR value of launching a complete product can be higher than trickling out iterations on an idea. "Today we're announcing we think we know how to build a fas
by wrs 16y ago
The PR value of launching a complete product can be higher than trickling out iterations on an idea. "Today we're announcing we think we know how to build a faster database" vs. "Today we're announcing we've built a database that benchmarks 10X faster than MySQL" -- which one gets more headlines?
Of course you could trickle out ideas and then launch, but that risks being regarded as "old news" when you finally do release a product. That's totally unfair but often does happen.
- sendos 16y agoYou bring up a good point, but is that really the reason most stealth startups choose the stealth route? Isn't it more common due to them not wanting competitors to start working on their idea?
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- kiwidrew 16y agoSpeaking as the co-founder of a startup that's still in 'stealth mode', this is precisely why we haven't launched yet. We reckon that doing a launch event is a one-of-a-kind stimulus. You can't really launch twice, at least not with the same impact. Just like you can take (too much) funding at too early a stage, you can also launch at too early a stage... we want to make sure that we're at a point where we can capitalize on the momentum of a launch event first.
- portman 16y agoThere is a non-trivial PR bump that occurs when a VC-backed company announces its strategy. Our company is in "stealth mode". We were funded in April, but we would prefer to have our one-time 15 minutes of fame in October, so we'll be waiting until then to "exit stealth mode". It's a PR hack, essentially.