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Key Takeaways Silent launches allow businesses to stress-test products with a smaller audience, gather feedback and refine offerings without the pressure of living up to the hype.
While large-scale product releases can create significant buzz, they also come with the risk of public failure if the product doesn’t meet expectations or is not fully ready for the market.
Finding a balance between silent and public launches can provide the benefits of user feedback and iterative development, with the added bonus of strategic visibility.
Even non-sneakerheads know when Nike is releasing a new shoe design. Lines to snag the latest Air Jordans or Dunks can stretch around multiple city blocks, and the atmosphere is electric. A new release doesn’t feel like a run-of-the-mill product drop — it’s a full-on cultural moment. Plenty of founders dream of replicating this approach: the big, splashy debut that generates palpable anticipation.
But there’s actually another path, one that in many ways is actually better than a hype-fueled event. A silent launch, while obviously less flashy, has a lot of upsides worth considering. Let me explain.
Related: Why Startups Launch in ‘Stealth Mode’ and Others Don’t
What it means to launch silently
I’ll admit: in my early days of building Jotform, I dreamed of a launch that would spawn breathless headlines and become the talk of TechCrunch. But I’m so glad I didn’t go that route — the truth is, the attention would have outpaced the product’s readiness. For examples of products killed by their own hype, look no further than the flash-in-the-pan fate of the first iteration of MoviePass, which generated huge buzz but was ultimately unsustainable, or, worse still, Theranos, which was all buzz and zero substance.
A silent launch avoids that trap. Also known as a quiet or stealth launch, this approach entails releasing a new product or service to only a small, targeted audience. Silent launches relinquish the big ad spends and media fanfare in favor of a more iterative approach, one that allows leaders to stress-test the product in the real world, gather feedback and fix bugs before going full-steam ahead on a wider, buzzier release. In other words, it removes the vast majority of the risks and pressure that come with a high-profile debut. Instead of being forced to live up to lofty expectations from day one, you can refine quietly, on your own terms.
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