The Biggest Mistake Founders Make
The most common reason startups fail is building a product that nobody wants. Founders often lock themselves in a room for 6 months, spend $50,000 on development, and launch to absolute silence. This is why you need an MVP (Minimum Viable Product).
Week 1: Define the Core Value Proposition
Strip away all the 'nice-to-have' features. If you are building the next Uber, your MVP is not an app with driver ratings, split-fare, and a wallet system. Your MVP is simply: A button to request a ride, and a driver showing up.
- Write down the #1 problem your user has.
- Write down the simplest, ugliest way to solve it.
- Throw away everything else.
Week 2: Choose the Right Tech Stack
Speed is your only advantage. Do not build a custom microservices architecture for your MVP.
- If you have no coders: Use No-Code tools like Bubble, Webflow, or FlutterFlow.
- If you have web developers: Use Next.js, Tailwind, and a BaaS (Backend as a Service) like Supabase or Firebase.
- Forget scaling to 1 million users. Focus on getting the first 100.
Week 3: Build the 'Happy Path'
The 'Happy Path' is the exact sequence of clicks a user makes to achieve their goal without encountering any edge cases or errors. Build this flow perfectly. Ignore edge cases like 'What if the user forgets their password but doesn't have access to their email?' Do those manually for now.
Week 4: The 'Wizard of Oz' Launch
In a 'Wizard of Oz' MVP, the frontend looks fully automated, but the backend is just you doing the work manually. If your app 'uses AI to schedule meetings', you don't actually need to train an AI yet. Just have the app send you an email, and you manually send the calendar invites. Validate that people will pay before automating.