The pros and cons of ‘Stealth mode’ — Lightspeed Venture Partners Blog

• http://lsvp.wordpress.com/2007/02/22/the-pros-and-cons-of-stealth-mode/

I recently heard about a company that has been in ‘Stealth mode’ for four years. That is certainly on the extreme range, but I’ve noticed an increasing number of companies in stealth mode, as can be seen by seaching on Craig’s list job ads. Indeed, one of my portfolio companies, Tippit, is in (partial) stealth.

This got me to thinking about the pros and cons of stealth mode. Typically, companies want to be in stealth so that they can emerge “fully formed” into a new category with a big enough head start over potential competitors that they can’t be easily caught.

However, there are a lot of drawbacks to being in stealth mode as well.

• http://lsvp.wordpress.com/2007/02/22/the-pros-and-cons-of-stealth-mode/