If "how many users do you have?" or "What is your conversion rate from freemium to paid?" is a "secret" that would allow someone else to enter your space and beat your startup at what it does, you don't have much of a startup. You have many closer snakes to kill than worrying about competitors entering your space because they heard a stat at a startup competition.
Stats like that are private not because they might encourage competitors to enter your space, but because they might give your existing competitors ammunition to use against you. Very obvious example: someone who is considering becoming your customer may chose a competitor if they know that the competitor has three times as many users as you.
Or maybe you're doing really well, but you want to save the fact that you have over a million users and use it up get a great press story at a strategic moment.
There are plenty of good reasons to keep your numbers private.
Comments
If "how many users do you have?" or "What is your conversion rate from freemium to paid?" is a "secret" that would allow someone else to enter your space and beat your startup at what it does, you don't have much of a startup. You have many closer snakes to kill than worrying about competitors entering your space because they heard a stat at a startup competition.
Stats like that are private not because they might encourage competitors to enter your space, but because they might give your existing competitors ammunition to use against you. Very obvious example: someone who is considering becoming your customer may chose a competitor if they know that the competitor has three times as many users as you.
Or maybe you're doing really well, but you want to save the fact that you have over a million users and use it up get a great press story at a strategic moment.
There are plenty of good reasons to keep your numbers private.