Michael Eagar | Internet Entrepreneur

I recently said to one of the Internet companies that I consult “Just Build the Prototype!” It was a classic scenario, the entrepreneur/engineer has the perfect product idea, they keep it close and secret for many years, it has been worked on and worked on to near perfection, but it is not perfect yet, so it cannot be released to the public, so it sits and sits waiting for perfection, and in turn wastes a lot of resources, time and money.

The scenario is quite common with many startups I have and continue to work with. Just Build the Prototype I told them, and quit wasting time. I had been reading The Art of the Start again, and it amazes me how many people never get to the prototype stage of their startup. The sooner you build the prototype the sooner you can get customers, great team members and investors. Plus, you can really look at your prototype and see if it has any real value or if it even really works.

I also like the book Getting Real by the guys at 37 signals. They also emphasize that you cannot make all the decisions about your product pre-development, and some decisions you make when you reach them. I have seen this happen a lot recently as I have helped clients work on their websites. You don’t always know what problems you will face until you get there. So next time someone insists on waiting until their product reaches perfection before launching it, tell them to Just Build the Prototype!

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