Stealth Startups Are The New Entrepreneurship Style.
Do it in silence.
We’re in a new age of entrepreneurship.
The age that counters – “I have a great idea! It could be worth billions, actually trillions!”
The age where investors are fed up with reading all those investor presentations.
The age where you have to do it first, then show the world.
This is what many (and I mean many) startups are doing these days. They’re going stealth. I’ve been consulting for over 12 years and I can confidently confirm that stealth startups are on the rise. Honestly, it makes sense.
The world is full of ideas.
Millions of people are gathering at this second and thinking of new “business ideas” that could get them to change the world and become financially independent - aka the dream.
A smaller number of people want to increase their wealth to buy a bigger yacht - aka the dream. But they’re faced with a problem – it’s getting more difficult to get the best investments.
The investments I’m talking about are ones that return not 10 or 30% but ones that turn $1m into $1b (simply changing a letter.)
It’s a risk to invest in an early stage startup.
The founders could screw up (probably will.)
The market could get bored of it (probably will.)
The startup could run out of cash (probably will.)
The list goes on and on. Hence, the solution – stealth it up.
Stealth Startups – Navigating silently.
You screwed up and didn’t make that much revenue this quarter?
Your CEO left?
You changed your product?
The world will never know, and that’s the beauty of stealth startups. That doesn’t mean they don’t raise investments. They could raise billions and keep in stealth mode. It’s about the outside world – the public.
Amazing, isn’t it? I’d say double edged.
Meta would never have been able to survive in stealth – it relied on the public.
Tesla, likewise – it relied on the valuation jump that it received from public investments. But guess what, they started as stealth.
But it’s not really stealth forever. Many companies start as stealth startups till a certain milestone. Then they show the world what they have.
When clients ask me whether they should start in stealth mode, I often agree that they should. It depends on the industry and the product, but in most cases, it’s much better to prove your concept strongly before getting into market.
Time has proven that the market could be very harsh on startups. So yes, go stealth if you could. This will give you the confidence that’s needed when you’re out of stealth and heading to your next investor meeting.
Just get used to the phrase, “What’s your name again? I haven’t heard of your startup.” Instead of getting bothered by it, remember that you’re following the footsteps of Block, Siri, Palantir, and Slack (all worth billions).
“You screwed up and didn’t generate much revenue this quarter? The world will never know—and that’s the beauty of stealth startups.
One reason to stay stealth might be to avoid risking a polished, old-school career while testing the waters. But if that’s the case, my friend, this person isn’t ready for entrepreneurship yet.
Another reason could be the fear of quick copycats, especially now that AI has made building and deploying SaaS startups easier, faster, and cheaper. At first glance, this concern seems valid, but it also suggests that the business isn’t a scale-up—it’s just a microSaaS.”