Coming Out Of Stealth Mode: What To Know And Do

By Wayne Koberstein, Executive Editor, Life Science Leader
Follow Me On Twitter @WayneKoberstein

Most bio startups go through periods when they are opaque to the outside world, also known as “stealth mode,” a time of closed, private operations when the company turns inward as it works to achieve its next phase of growth. At some point, however, stealth mode must come to an end.

Typically, a company’s first encounter with a period of stealth is as a young startup that has completed a series of tests supporting its key scientific and technological hypotheses. If the company has roots in previous academic research, it may still need to augment early experiments with realistic, practical investigations into how the end products may perform in medical practice. Even other “stealth-mode” settings, such as before an IPO or partnership, turn a company inward and away from the world outside, there is a period of incubation, but also insulation.