Built to test

The first book I recommend to anyone building a startup is Getting Real by the guys at 37 Signals.

Getting Real preaches the idea of rapid development: Building only what is absolutely necessary as quickly and cheaply as possible and then getting it in peoples hands.

Every once in a while I need a reminder of these principals, so I was happy this morning to get a mail from my friend Andrew with a link to a post from Trizoko. Here are the highlights:

Scenario: “Dude, we need to build a rockin’ beta-ready product first. Then, we’ll test it. Yay!”

The problem with waiting until your product reaches that beta stage?
Your financial risks increase exponentially in:
* Resources.
* Time.
* Morale.
* Lost opportunities.
* Cash, cash, cash.

Now, let’s say you build your beta-ready product 9 months later.
What if the market reacts negatively to that product?

The pessimistic side would tell you to give up.
The optimistic side would tell you: “Wait, that just means we have to refine the product to their needs more!”

You’re choosing the right path with that last answer. But when you do, it hits you:

“We wasted 9 months in lost resources, time, morale, lost opportunities, and cash — when we could’ve received the same frickin’ feedback 8 months earlier!”

Instead, do this:
Build something quickly that’s test-ready.
Then start testing the sucka.
Measure the results: Are they promising?
* If not, dump it — you just saved lots of resources for better innovations.
* If results however looking promising, juice up more investments into it.

Do that in a continuous cycle, and you’ll build one ridiculously awesome innovation machine.