Catapult will be first tested and launched on permissioned chains, which is actually a good thing.  They will be stressing it to the max, and any bugs will get worked out through quick development cycles that are not possible on a public chain. Also, it is easier to deploy experimental features in a permission evironment and see what sticks with businesses and what doesn't.

When Catapult launches on the NEM network, we will have a tried and tested blockchain platform, that will have gone through more testing than our competitors. 

NEM will take a while to reach its full potential, but it will be worth it.