When do I release my software?
Hey!
I've been reading this site for months, and finally decided to execute one of my ideas. I have just one question: how do I know when I'm ready to release?
I've built the basic version of the software, and have just been setting up the server for the API and website. The software is super basic, but that's the point of the MVP, right? I don't want to release with a bad first impression to potential customers, especially when there is competition that is much more complex and impressive (but is also much more expensive and isn't serving my niche).
Show us your version 0.1 and we can discuss. ;)
But seriously, it's probably a good idea to start form a demo and a landing page, not a working product or API. Because the very first step in the funnel is show your concept, and internals are the least important thing. If product is not ready, interested people can wait. If you're afraid to show it, that's precisely the problem you need to fix.
You are entirely correct. The website isn't ready, and I suppose I do not feel the product is ready yet. I mean, I finished the current state of the product in about 4 days so I suppose I should spend some more time on it lol!
You should just launch! Clifford Oravec is explaining it very well i part 3 of his guide to bootstrap a saas, the link is https://hackernoon.com/make-it-rain-building-an-mvp-for-fun-and-profit-part-3-of-the-epic-guide-to-bootstrapping-be2b00f697c9
You can also consider reading the entire guide ;) Here is a link to the first part ;) https://medium.com/@cliffordoravec/the-epic-guide-to-bootstrapping-a-saas-startup-from-scratch-by-yourself-part-1-4d834e1df8c1
Thanks for those articles -- they're great! He recommends to spend at most a month on building and I think that's a good time frame. I'm just at this point where I have this product which looks pretty, but does basic things do I feel as if it is not done until it is more complex. He kind of answered my question by saying each release needs to be like it's part of a chess game.
Hey there! 👊💥
Good work on getting to this point and thinking, "Hmmm - can I ship what I have?" Sure, a lot of people will have this thought - but most of them just banish it to the back of their heads and move forward building new features.
The thing to keep in mind is that a software product is never done. You'll always come up with new ideas and features to incorporate.
But why spend all of that time building if you don't have anyone using it?
That's the point of the MVP - to see if people are interested in the basis of what you're looking to offer.
I know that a lot of developers have this fear that they can't release something until it does all the things - mostly because they've convinced themselves that people won't look at it unless it does all the things.
But that's just not true.
The truth is that people aren't going to look at it unless they're aware of it.
So with an MVP, you want to distill your idea down to its core essence - to the most basic set of features that deliver discernible value - and then you want to see if you can get people interested in using that thing and giving you feedback.
It doesn't have to do all the things - but it better do the things that it's supposed to do incredibly well. The days of releasing half-baked MVPs like we used to be able to get away with in 2008 are over. People's expectations are much higher nowadays.
Your biggest challenge will be finding where the people who would benefit from your app are and being able to communicate (and persuade) them effectively enough to give your app a try. That's why you shouldn't wait until your app does all the things - because if you can't find these people, connect with them, compel them to take action, make sure that your app gives them the value they're looking for, and ultimately convince them to pay you for your offering, it doesn't matter how many things your app does.
So long story short, release your MVP and start doing low-key sales and marketing with it as soon as you have a solid app that delivers the basic value proposition you believe people will respond to and get value from.
Then learn as much as you can and gauge where you're at and figure out your next move.
Best of luck!
Thanks for this. Everyone seems to be saying what you are: release when it does the most critical task that it needs to do. It seems like I'll probably release in the next few weeks or so. I'm looking forward to it, even if it flops :)
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I'm glad, that they was a help for you :)
I think you should release it as soon as users can get value from your app. I wouldn't worry too much about bad first impressions because chances are you're not Google launching a new product on the front page of TechCrunch to millions of users.
You can worry about first impressions once you actually have people coming to your website and signing up for your app.
The feedback you get will most likely make up for any bad first impression, assuming you're not targeting some tiny market with 12 potential users worldwide.
Great point with that first paragraph. I think I'm looking at this too critically, thinking that one of the billions of people on the internet is going to look at my product, say they don't like it, and have their opinion dictate thousands of others'.
I believe my wordwide user group must be at least a billion, so I think I'll be okay with bad feedback ;) Thank you for your insight. It seems easy to get caught up in your own thoughts about this when you've never executed anything like this before!
"I have just one question: how do I know when I'm ready to release?"
You'll know when you know.
"The software is super basic, but that's the point of the MVP, right?"
Yes, but it's also to get feedback which will help you in what direction to take your software.
"I don't want to release with a bad first impression to potential customers, especially when there is competition that is much more complex and impressive"
People don't become race car drivers on the first day they drove a car. I don't know if it's the issue, but for me when I first started off I was worried about negative feedback. You'll eventually get some negative feedback, or no feedback at all. Don't take it personal, and let the hesitation prevent you from moving forward.
I made huge progress last night on the website and I'm feeling much more confident with the product now. I believe that if I make just a few minor changes then I'll be well-enough to release.
"Yes, but it's also to get feedback which will help you in what direction to take your software."
I, for some reason, didn't even think of this. This makes me want to release it even sooner so I can be sure of what people are expecting from such a product.
I think, with your last paragraph, that I should release it very soon and just see what happens. It's priced very cheap and does solve it's problem in a basic way in it's current state...so no harm, I suppose.
Without understanding the product/customer base, I can generally say:
Forget "bad first impression".. you aren't going to make enough of a distribution splash to do enough damage. The benefits of feedback and information vastly outweigh the detriments.
Obviously, if your software involves medical/financial transactions/other irreversible things, maybe be very cautious.
Just release it. Working on https://www.honegrow.com I've had to make obvious improvements with each "launch" I've done. The kind of feedback you get from launching to new batches of strangers is invaluable and you won't be able to get it anywhere else - least of all your own perspective.
If you're reaaaaally worried then just find smaller audiences to launch to.