Mark Fletcher has a great post on why stealth mode is a stupid way to start a company with today's web. It's a point I've made before (The greatest market risk in social software is not engaging the network early), but let me add some parallel thoughts:
- Part of the rationale for stealth is competition. But there are more leaks than plumbers, and getting ahead of your competitors matters less than getting in bed with your users.
- Part of the rationale for stealth is stardom. When media was broadcast, you countered lack of access with exclusivity. Now you need to be inclusive from the get go.
- Part of the rationale for stealth is building barriers to entry. But to Mark's point, this stuff isn't about millions of lines of code and complexity anymore.
Entrepreneurship is experimenting at the margin, so get out there and start pushing boundaries.
