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I'm currently working on a startup in stealth mode. Right now we have a pre-launch page with our tag ine. But I feel like I should redesign to give further explanation of what we are doing in order to get more users.

On the other hand we are getting subscribers without much info, and a redesign explaining the application opens us up to risks involving competition.

For those who've had experience in this, can you advise me on this situation?

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Most people just plain suck at entrepreneurship, don't worry about it. – frenchie Mar 25 '12 at 20:46

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Stealth mode is, in all but a tiny minority of cases, pointless.

If you don't talk to your users, how will you understand their needs, and whether they are prepared to use (and pay for) your solution?

If your idea is so easy to copy, it will be copied within hours or launching. If you had the idea, other people have probably had the idea. Even if your idea is "stolen", your vision and execution cannot be.

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Correct - Someone has had your idea before. Most likely hundreds or thousands of people. But 99.999% of them do nothing. Also, people have their own passions and interests - the people that do have the knowledge to steal and implement your idea have ideas of their own they are more passionate about. – Ryan Doom Mar 25 '12 at 14:39
Yes, more likely scenario is that you are afraid that established competitor will like your ideas and will copy them before your product has a chance to be noticed. Try looking into utility or even design patents for protection rather than going stealth. If the competitor has a leg up on you anyway then it won't take them long to copy your ideas anyway once you out of the closet. – maciej Mar 25 '12 at 16:09
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Those that might want to find out a little about what you are doing only need to subscribe to your mailing list and wait till you start opening up about what you are doing.

Some will give their email addy out of plain curiosity, not interest or intention to steal, simply because you are not telling them anything yet so they subscribe.

Many people change their mind anyway, people can be fickle, someone could try copying your idea and lose interest a few weeks later as something shiny catches their eye.

Think about it this way, the type of people that go looking for an idea to copy may also be the type that dont focus long and hard enough on anything to be of any concern to you.

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+1 for "Think about it this way, the type of people that go looking for an idea to copy may also be the type that dont focus long and hard enough on anything to be of any concern to you." – Shree Mandadi Mar 26 '12 at 3:44

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