I think stealth mode is (99% of the time) bullshit. I think most of the time you should talk about your product to anyone who will listen. Here are a few thin

I think stealth mode is (99% of the time) bullshit. I think most of the time you should talk about your product to anyone who will listen. Here are a few things you can't easily get in stealth mode: - A partner/co-founder: The idea makes all the difference for people who might consider diving in with you. Potential partners don't have time to meet with all the stealth-monkies to sign their NDA and hear about their (usually uninteresting to them) idea. - A customer: In stealth mode, you'll never meet anyone who will say, "Holy crap that's cool. Can I sign up to be a pilot customer?" - Wisdom about how to talk about your product: Every time you pitch your product to ANYONE, you get better at knowing what people want, how to talk about it, and where they get confused. - A random referral: In stealth mode, you'll never hear "Oh! You know who'd be the perfect co-founder/investor/employee/pilot customer for you?!" - A great idea that makes your idea BETTER. Of course, a lot of stealth moders have serious idea-hubris, so they probably couldn't imagine their idea getting any better. - An investor. No investor will sign an NDA. Most would punt you if you even asked. - SEO benefit. Backlinks and site age both effect rankings. Start building now. On the other side of the coin, would your competition REALLY change their execution if they knew you existed? "Oh no! Two guys armed with Ruby on Rails! We're DOOOOMED!"