"Build in public" has become one of the most popular mantras among startups and indie developers. The idea is simple: share your journey, showcase your progress, and build transparency to attract early adopters and a loyal audience. For most founders, it’s a great way to gain visibility, learn quickly, and pivot when necessary. But let's not get carried away—this strategy isn't one-size-fits-all.

Here’s the hard truth: while many startups believe they’re sitting on a revolutionary idea that will “change the world,” only a few actually are. And for those rare few, building in public might not be the smartest move.

Understanding the Nature of True Disruption

If you're working on something genuinely groundbreaking—a product or technology with the potential to disrupt an entire industry—the last thing you want is to share your progress step-by-step with the world. That’s not strategy; that’s giving your competitors a head start. In these cases, staying in stealth mode might be the wiser choice.

Consider the example of Bland AI. After years of working quietly behind closed doors, they’ve finally come out of stealth mode with a splash. They didn’t spend their time sharing every development decision on Twitter or blogging about their tech stack. Instead, they focused on perfecting their product away from the public eye, ensuring they kept their competitive edge. The result? They’ve now launched with significant buzz and intrigue—something most companies spend millions trying to manufacture.

Why Stealth Mode Can Be a Smart Strategy

Stealth mode isn’t about secrecy for the sake of secrecy; it’s about safeguarding a competitive advantage. If you're sitting on a potential game-changer, revealing your every move could mean losing the element of surprise. Publicizing your innovation too soon exposes it to scrutiny, copycats, and potential theft. In today’s hyper-competitive environment, there's a significant advantage to working quietly until you're ready to make a big impact.

Imagine laying out your blueprint for all to see while still in development. You risk being outpaced by larger players with deeper pockets and faster routes to market. If what you're building is truly disruptive, it’s in your best interest to keep the details under wraps until the moment is right.

Most Startups Overestimate Their Disruption

Now, let's be real. Many startups believe they’re working on the next big thing, but in reality, they're making incremental improvements on existing ideas. And that's perfectly fine! For those companies, building in public can be a fantastic way to get real-time feedback, cultivate a community, and improve their product iteratively. But when every founder believes they’re the next Elon Musk or Steve Jobs, it can lead to a lot of unnecessary cloak-and-dagger behavior.

The Critical Question: Is Your Innovation Truly Revolutionary?

To decide whether to build in public or stay under the radar, you need to ask yourself one tough question: Do we really have something worth hiding? If the answer is yes—if you’re onto something that could genuinely rewrite the rules—then perhaps it's best to keep things quiet. Build in private, refine your technology, and launch when you're ready to stun the market. But if your innovation is more evolutionary than revolutionary, embrace the benefits of transparency and community engagement. Open the curtains and let people in.

The Takeaway: Know Your Strategy and Know Yourself

The choice to build in public or in private is not about following a trend. It’s about understanding where you stand in the spectrum of innovation. For many startups, transparency and open development are key to building a solid foundation. But for those few who are truly breaking new ground, silence can be your most powerful tool.

So, before you decide to share your every move with the world, take a step back and ask: Is our innovation worth the wait? If the answer is yes, play your cards close to your chest. The market will thank you for it when the time is right.