Loading...
Answers
MenuHow do you handle "stealth mode"?
Answers


Thanks for your question.
If things go well the boss will find out anyway, so you may as well assume you will do well and have a conversation with him now. Now we don't know enough about your idea to really advise well enough, but in general I'd try and position it as a 'weekend hobby', and as something he/she shouldn't be worried about.
Also, I really wouldn't worry about the boss doing what you do just because they can. I'm guessing anyone connected with you on social media or networking events could do so too. People are way too busy with their own stuff to allocate enough time and resources to do what you do, nor are they as advanced in the business as you have been, given you've spent valuable time gaining key insights that they couldn't never gain from hacking a version of your business.
Hope this helps. Good luck!


First, I'm a dad and an entrepreneur. Kudos to you! It's a big deal doing this with kiddos.
Second, it's hard to say entirely without knowing more details. But, I won an entire startup competition without my day job knowing (six months). It was completely legal, I just didn't want the hassle of talking through why I was doing something on the side. If you're no legally allowed to, that's a different ball game.
Third, for what it's worth, online customers may not need to know much about *you* for quite some time. You can attend physical events without having to put your name on your site or social profiles just yet. You can blog as the company and fill your 'about' page with company mission and vision info. If the product isn't a consultancy, podcast, etc. you might be able to stay anonymous for longer than you think.
Fourth, there is always a fear someone else could steal the idea. It doesn't happen often though!
Fifth, I would advise waiting until you absolutely *have* to say something - preferably when the company is at a point you can jump ship.
Sixth, keep all your personal files off your work computers. Or, use a password protected partition for all those files. It's just a smart way to operate with this stuff.
I hope that helps! If you want to chat about it let me know. I'm easy to find on Twitter if a phone call doesn't make sense.


Execution of ideas is a big factor...just because someone knows about your idea doesn't mean they can or will do a thing about it.
And even if they do, will they have the energy and ability to execute it as well as you?
You have two choices as I see it:
1. Embrace the public connection between you and the new business ("Yes! It's ME!")
or
2. Keep hidden behind the business name. Center all marketing around the business and downplay personalities. Use your first name only as much as you can ("Derek at JingoText").
Sooner or later your employer is going to find out.
You really don't have any control over what he does. Whether he's angry, supportive or ambivalent, you need to be clear with yourself about what you're doing and why.
How much do you value your business?
If being safe (which is an illusion: your job can be taken away at any time) is more important to you than developing your own business, perhaps you should turn the idea off.
Being self-employed takes guts. And you learn those guts while you do it--I can tell you from my own experience that I am much braver about taking risks, depending on my own efforts for income, and being my own boss, now than I was four years ago. So you don't have to "feel it" 100% at the beginning.
But you should know whether you're committed or not. And if you are committed, then it doesn't matter what your current boss thinks.


Stealth mode allows businesses to temporarily conceal their product, brand, or any aspect of the business, as to not alert competitors of what they are working on until the last minute. The idea is to develop products and services in secret, out of the sight of competitors. And then, enter the market when the product or service is advanced enough to stand on its own and hold an advantage against new market entrants. I believe this is the only way to handle stealth mode.
Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath
Related Questions
-
What is the average series A funding round at pre revenue valuation for a enterprise start up w/cutting edge tech on verge of our first client.
With all respect to Dan, I'm not seeing anything like that. You said "pre-revenue." If it's pre-revenue and enterprise, you don't have anything proven yet. You would have to have an insanely interesting story with a group of founders and execs on board with ridiculous competitive advantage built in. I have seen a few of those companies. It's more like $3m-$5m pre. Now, post-revenue is different. I've seen enterprise plays with $500k-$1m revenue/yr, still very early (because in the enterprise space that's not a lot of customers yet), getting $8m-$15m post in an A-round. I do agree there's no "average." Finally, you will hit the Series A Crunch issue, which is that for every company like yours with "cutting edge tech" as-yet-unproven, there's 10 which also have cutting edge tech except they have customers, revenue, etc.. So in this case, it's not a matter of valuation, but a matter of getting funded at all!
-
how to start earning on clarity.fm
Most of the earnings come from the people you are in contact with. The platform is not that big at the moment but it can be earned. My recommendation is to create content on your private page web, facebook, instagram ... and leave a clarity link through your work. If you need extra help call me for 15 minutes.
-
What does it mean to 'grandfather you in' in the tech world?
It stands for allowing someone to continue doing or use something that is normally no longer permitted (due to changing regulations, internal rules etc.)
-
How can I become an idea person, as a professional title?
One word: Royalties This means you generate the idea and develop it enough to look interesting to a larger company who would be willing to pay you a royalty for your idea. This happens all the time. Rock stars, authors and scientists routinely license their creative ideas to other companies who pay them a royalty. Anyone can do it. Your business, therefore, would be a think tank. You (and your team, if you have one) would consider the world's problems, see what kinds of companies are trying to solve those problems, and then develop compelling solutions that they can license from you. You have to be able to sell your idea and develop a nice presentation, a little market research and an understanding of basic trademark and patent law. The nice thing about doing this is that if you develop enough cool ideas you will have royalties coming in from a lot of different sources, this creates a stable, passive revenue stream that requires little or no work to maintain. Start in your spare time and plan on the process taking 3-5 years. Set a goal to have a few products in the market that provide enough revenue (royalties) to cover your basic living expenses. Then you can quit your day job and dedicate more time and increase the momentum. A good idea business should have dozens, if not hundreds of license contracts generating royalties. It's possible to pull this off. And it is a fun job (I'm speaking from experience).
-
For every success story in Silicon Valley, how many are there that fail?
It all depends on what one decides to be a definition of a "success story." For some entrepreneurs, it might be getting acqui-hired, for some -- a $10M exit, for some -- a $200M exit, and for others -- an IPO. Based on the numbers I have anecdotally heard in conversations over the last decade or so, VCs fund about 1 in 350 ventures they see, and of all of these funded ventures, only about 1 in 10 become really successful (i.e. have a big exit or a successful IPO.) So you are looking at a 1 in 3500 chance of eventual venture success among all of the companies that try to get VC funding. (To put this number in perspective, US VCs invest in about 3000-3500 companies every year.) In addition, there might be a few others (say, maybe another 1-2 in every 10 companies that get VC investments) that get "decent" exits along the way, and hence could be categorized as somewhat successful depending on, again, how one chooses to define what qualifies as a "success story." Finally, there might also be companies that may never need or get around to seeking VC funding. One can, of course, find holes in the simplifying assumptions I have made here, but it doesn't really matter if that number instead is 1 in 1000 or 1 in 10000. The basic point being made here is just that the odds are heavily stacked against new ventures being successful. But that's also one of the distinguishing characteristics of entrepreneurs -- to go ahead and try to bring their idea to life despite the heavy odds. Sources of some of the numbers: http://www.nvca.org/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ven... https://www.pwcmoneytree.com/MTP... http://paulgraham.com/future.html Here are others' calculations of the odds that lead to a similar conclusion: 1.Dear Entrepreneurs: Here's How Bad Your Odds Of Success Are http://www.businessinsider.com/startup-odds-of-success-2013-5 2.Why 99.997% Of Entrepreneurs May Want To Postpone Or Avoid VC -- Even If You Can Get It http://www.forbes.com/sites/dileeprao/2013/07/29/why-99-997-of-entrepreneurs-may-want-to-postpone-or-avoid-vc-even-if-you-can-get-it/