Get Out Of StartUp Stealth. No One Cares.

Stop Hiding. No One’s Going to Steal Your Idea.

If your whole startup depends on no one knowing the idea, you don’t have a startup—you have a secret.

Every week, founders email me asking for time. But the moment I agree, they follow up with an NDA.

No. Not because I’m rude. Because it’s not scalable, not fair, and not realistic.

Here’s what’s real:

• I speak to hundreds of founders. I can’t track NDAs.
• Most ideas I’ve already heard in some form.
• If you can’t send a 1-pager or deck before a call, you don’t respect my time.

This isn’t about being harsh. It’s about balance. You’re asking me to blindly trust you, to enter legal risk, to set aside time—without giving me a reason. That’s not just unrealistic. It’s a power imbalance. Let’s fix that.

What Stealth Actually Signals

Stealth isn’t strategy. It’s fear in a black hoodie.

Most stealth founders think:

• The idea is fragile.
• They’ll be copied.
• Secrecy protects them.

But most real outcomes depend on execution, not concept. Two people can take the same idea and build radically different businesses. So the stealth doesn’t help—it delays feedback, talent, and momentum.

The market doesn’t care about your secrecy. It cares if you’re solving something urgent, fast, and well.

NDAs Create Asymmetric Power Dynamics

Founders asking for NDAs are often well-meaning. But the reality is this:

You're asking someone to take on legal risk to give you free advice.

Think about that. You're essentially saying: 'I don’t trust you, but help me anyway.' That’s a broken ask.

Instead:

• Trust is earned. Show clarity, not control.
• Respect the other person's time. A good 1-pager shows you’re serious.
• Flip the ask: 'Can I earn 10 minutes with this summary?' is better than 'Can we talk and I’ll explain it then.'

Secret Pitch Decks Don’t Build Trust

Not sending your deck doesn’t make you look protective. It makes you look uncertain.

If your deck can’t travel without you, it’s not a good deck. If someone can’t understand the core of your company from a PDF, you don’t have clarity yet.

Great founders:

• Share their deck widely.
• Refine it based on reactions.
• Use it as a wedge to earn real conversations.

No one steals decks. But plenty of people ignore vague ones.

If You’re Genuinely In a Sensitive Space

Sometimes stealth is legit:

• You’re deep in regulated tech
• You’re in crypto or a zero-day window
• You have pre-patent IP

Fine. Then share enough to earn trust, while protecting the edge:

• Give context
• Frame constraints
• Show you understand how to manage disclosure risk

But don’t use stealth to cover for uncertainty. That’s not safety—it’s delay.

How to Be Open and Smart

• Use a 1-pager. Put the what, why, and who in one clear page.
• Send your deck. Make it strong enough to speak without you.
• Ask clear questions: 'Can I get 5 minutes of your reaction to this?'
• Track who you send it to—use tools like DocSend or Notion.
• Follow up with signal, not vague updates.

You’ll get more replies, more intros, more momentum.

Final Take: Hiding Isn’t Strategy. Clarity Is.

You’re not protecting gold. You’re hiding clay.

Early-stage ideas are fragile—but they only get stronger through exposure, iteration, and pressure.

So stop asking people to sign things to help you. Start giving them a reason to care.

Earn trust. Be clear. Move fast.

Stealth is a stall. Clarity is compounding.

Reflection Questions for Founders

• Why am I in stealth—fear, or true risk?
• Would I sign the NDA I’m asking someone else to sign?
• Can my deck speak without me?
• Am I making it easy for people to help me—or harder?

The right people will help you. If you make it easy to say yes.