The product is already built and I'm struggling with a decision -- should I launch it but not splash the internets with word about it or should I be open and post it to relevant industry forums etc.
I know the prevailing wisdom about not worrying about this because 9/10 times there's crickets, so stealth would be foolish. I'm not worried about demand - there is tons and it's already being served, just more sub optimally than what I intend to do.
This is a 2-sided platform, so there is the chicken and egg problem. Launching to communities/forums/publicly has the advantage of getting out of the gate somewhat quicker but it will also bring it to the notice of more players quickly. I'm an indie developer and don't have a ton of resources to compete if someone with more resources moves quicker to launch and grow and a similar thing before I'm ready to take them on (some growth under belt).
On the other hand, one approach is to selectively reach out to customers and users, at least for a little while. But the downside is that it'll take me a lot longer to seed the platform with sufficient demand and supply.
How do you weigh such a decision? Is this a false dichotomy?
To be clear, I'm not trying to protect my special snowflake idea. I'm just trying to be tactical about what approach makes sense given my resources to move faster than a more well funded platform.
Everyone goes through the thought that their "competition" is out there googling for new companies and watching for the next thing etc. Because a lot of time when you are starting a company that is what you are doing to find who is a competitor or what exists in market. However, 99% of an in market company's time (if they are a real company) is spent on clients and developing their product and market, not looking over their shoulder at some early startup that has no traction or clients yet.
I had a mentor tell me many times, if you didn't market before you built you are already late and behind. He also told me, if you are afraid to talk about what you are building or what you have built then you don't have a good enough product. His point was you shouldn't worry about other companies, worry about you and get your product out and talk to as many people as you can.
One last point, if your company can easily be replaced by an in market competitor just spending a week on a feature, then you don't have a company, you just implemented a feature already on their roadmap. That said, sometimes that one feature is dismissed by companies and is your ticket into the market and by the time they realize you are a threat because of your growth, it can be too late for them to shift momentum (or super costly i.e. cheaper to acquire you), if you do it correctly.