What do you wish you knew when launching a MVP?
Boris Barath
7 replies
Me and a buddy are planning on launching a project we've been working on for quite a while now. We built https://hackathon.camp a while ago and want to launch, the goal being acquiring some (free) users and gathering as much feedback as possible.
Makers, what do you wish you knew before launching your MVP? Should it have been more polished? Should you have spent less time on it before launching?
let's hear it!
Replies
André J@sentry_co
That you should explore more before you start.
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@sentry_co What do you mean by explore? product market fit? competitors? I think there are potentially infinite opportunities to explore, but it's difficult to identify when you explored "enough"
@borisbarath I like to think of exploration in terms of local maxima. better explained by Mathew Sanders: http://mathewsanders.com/local-m...
@borisbarath And talking to expert voices with different but related fields. 20 is a good number. But I am doing it now. When We enter phase 2 (the operation phase) of our project. If I had explored more in phase 1. I could have saved time, I think. But we got there in the end 😅 but it was though.
Hey Boris, I have strong convictions about our marketplace that is launching its first half come July 17th - As a result, I wish I knew why no one has thought of this idea and what special insight we have.
Also as a first-time founder, it's all a learning experience for my cofounder and I. I lean toward a hybrid between ship and iterate and perfect then release.
Why? - It's 2023 and users and even early adopters have higher expectations of what products/services they are willing to try should look like. Internally, however, it creates momentum the earlier you can set a reasonable, but not too far out timeline and do everything you can to meet that timeline.
Ultimately build the most crucial features and release as their benefits of putting your project out there fast - i.e. being the first mover in the space, validating, creating a community, perfecting/testing GTM strategies, leveraging traction.
In my eyes - ship and iterate if you don't have strong early convictions and need to listen to your customers to know what to even build
perfect and release - if you have all the time in the world
Ship and perfect - This is what we're doing to gain the benefits of shipping while taking the time to build out the product we truly believe
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@divine_rivers1 hi! Thanks for the write-up! How would you go about building a community? Is this a community around your product? Or yourself and like-minded people?
@borisbarath Great Question, I have strong opinions on this. One reason I think the tech industry has issues in building community is because typically it is done based on the solution they provide or its product/service. IMO this only work when your product/solution is so great people want to get behind this (i.e Uber, Airbnb). This results in companies having large proximity, but lacking the penetration and depth needed with consumers to build a strong community.
Due to the fact, tech is still in its infancy stage compared to other industries, one lesson I think that hasn't been put into practice as often as it should, is using one's brand to build community. The importance of building a brand identity is that it allows you to speak to consumers' individuality and allows them to relate that individuality back to your company.
Think the best to do this: Nike. Nike ads are not based on how their sneakers are better, more comfortable, or more lightweight aerodynamic. They focus on the type of people that wear Nike sneakers, the lifestyle that wearing Nike correlates with, etc.
Tech companies would be able to build much larger, more impactful communities if they focused on building a brand identity and brand that put their direct value propositions and benefits to the back and highlighted the indirect impacts of using that product/service that consumers care about. This is our plan when it comes to our marketplace releasing its first half come July 17th!