VIDEO: Building in stealth, launching and early phases for startups

Travel startups take different paths in their quest for success, and certainly one of the less popular routes is to build the company behind a veil of secrecy for an extended time.

This strategy – operating in “stealth” mode – can last for many years. Hopper is a well-known example of a startup that stayed in stealth for about six years.

The idea of developing and testing a product over time while not sharing any details publicly can make it difficult to fundraise, that is unless you get early support from established industry leaders.

That’s been the case for Spotnana, a corporate travel startup that operated in stealth for nearly two years before emerging publicly in September.

At that point the company had already raised $41 million, with most of that coming in July in a $34 million Series A round led by ICONIQ Capital and Madrona Venture Group. But those investors aren’t just providing cash. Madrona’s managing director is Steve Singh, founder and former CEO of Concur, and ICONIQ’s general partner is Greg Stanger, former CFO at Expedia and Duetto – both are giving Spotnana advice and affirmation, now visible to the broader travel industry. 

In the recent PhocusWire Pulse: Startups In The Spotlight event, Spotnana co-founder and CEO Sarosh Waghmar explains why – and how – the company stayed in stealth mode and the benefit of being able to “operate without distractions.” 

Waghmar also discusses the power of support from industry veterans, challenges of scaling and the importance of hiring correctly.

Watch the full interview with PhocusWire’s Mitra Sorrells below.