When to Launch Your Startup and When to Wait

Summary

In this discussion from YC Partners, Michael, Harj, and Brad explore why startup founders often hesitate to launch early and move quickly, despite knowing the benefits of speed. They highlight how founders' fears of imperfection and their desire for a 'perfect launch' often slow them down. Through examples like Instacart and Rippling, they stress the importance of iterating and learning from real-world feedback, rather than delaying progress for an idealized launch. The message is clear: move fast, launch repeatedly, and embrace the messy reality of early-stage growth.

Takeaways

• 🚀 Founders often imagine their product launch as a huge, glamorous event, like the Oscars, when in reality, it’s more low-key.
• 💡 Many founders struggle with launching early because they overestimate the importance of perfection before showing their product to the world.
• ⏩ Moving fast is crucial for startups, but many founders don't fully understand what 'fast' means in a startup context compared to big companies.
• 🛠️ Startups often build messy, incomplete products at first, which is perfectly normal and helps them learn quickly (e.g., Instacart initially had no backend).
• 💭 Founders often get stuck optimizing for an imaginary 'perfect launch' instead of getting feedback from real users quickly.
• 🤔 There’s a fallacy in thinking about 'the launch' as a one-time event; in reality, companies launch multiple times and continuously iterate.
• 😱 Fear of failure or negative feedback can prevent founders from launching, but the worst-case scenarios they fear are often overblown.
• 📋 Having a waitlist or sign-up form isn’t the same as launching. Real feedback comes from people using the product.
• 🔥 Some exceptional cases (like Rippling) might justify a long development period before launch, but these are rare, and most founders should launch fast.
• 🏎️ Every day founders delay launching, they are choosing to go slower than necessary, which can harm their progress.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the discussion in the transcript?

The main topic is why startup founders often hesitate to launch their products early and move quickly, despite knowing that it's beneficial to do so.

Why do some founders struggle to understand what moving 'fast' means?

Founders, especially those from big companies, may think they are moving quickly because they compare themselves to the slower pace of large corporations. However, startup fast is a whole different level, and they need to adjust to that new speed.

What is a common misconception that founders have about launching their product?

Founders often romanticize their product launch, imagining it as a grand event like the Oscars, where they’ll be celebrated. In reality, many product launches go unnoticed, and it's important to launch multiple times to get attention.

Why is launching repeatedly emphasized rather than focusing on a single perfect launch?

Launching repeatedly helps improve the product through real user feedback, and it increases the chances of gaining traction. A single 'perfect' launch is rare and unrealistic.

What fears do founders have about launching too early?

Founders fear that people will criticize their product for being ugly or unfinished, that competitors will find out about their idea, or that investors will see an underdeveloped product.

What example is given of a startup that launched with a 'dirty' or hacked-together product?

Instacart is mentioned as an example where, during its early days, the founders didn’t have a sophisticated backend. Instead, they manually fulfilled orders, sometimes using friends to deliver products.

How did the company Magic approach its product launch?

Magic launched just two days after coming up with the idea. They created a simple website with a phone number that users could text to request services. This approach allowed them to learn quickly from real user interactions.

Why is Rippling considered an exception to the advice about launching quickly?

Rippling took over a year to launch because its founder, Parker Conrad, had deep domain expertise from his previous startup, Zenefits. He knew exactly what the product needed to be, which justified a longer development period.

Why should founders avoid comparing themselves to exceptions like Dropbox or Rippling?

Many founders only know a small part of the story behind these exceptions. They may not realize that these companies had unique circumstances or experienced founders, so following the same slow launch strategy could be detrimental for most startups.

What can founders learn by looking at early blog posts or product screenshots from successful companies like GitHub?

Founders can see that these companies started with simpler, less polished products. It helps founders understand that products evolve over time, and they don’t need to launch with a fully-featured, perfected version.