Need advice: Always feel like I need to make/fix a feature before inviting users
I always feel like I need to tweak a feature or build a separate one before I’d feel comfortable inviting people to use it.
I’ll have a solid foundation of the product but still feel like if I started inviting users they wouldn’t think it’s valuable enough, or get confused/stuck, or abandon the product and not come back.
I’m constantly in this cycle of having features I think I need before I open the flood gates. I build those things. And then I find new things to push back my finish line.
I guess it’s technically “feature creep“ but it’s less about “because I think it will be cool” and more of “because I think it’s necessary for the success of the product.”
Anybody else face this? Any advice?
Seen this so many times, including in myself.
My guess is that this is actually not about "need to add feature", but about fear that when you send invites and promos, nobody responds or likes your product, and you will feel rejected. Adding more features postpones the likely rejection.
Here's two stupid ways to get over it:
.. Increase Gamma Aminobutyric Acid in your brain. For example by getting drunk. That reduces inhibitions, which is why shy guys stop fearing rejection and start talking to girls when they are drunk, and which is why indie devs stop fearing rejection and start sending invites.
.. Run out of money. When you either need to start selling your product or starve, most choose to start selling. More generally and seriously, having concrete external urgency is a damn good way to get shit done.
🤣 Love this. Get wasted, then launch!
@HenriNext - This is awesome advice. The second one really makes sense because I'm in the fortunate situation of also running a digital agency that pays the bills. I am eager to release the product but not in a situation where I NEED to. The need to release would be a huge motivator.
And to your initial point RE "fear of being rejected" it's definitely a splash of that mixed with fear of being rejected and then losing the credibility and trust to those users. They reject the product, it gets a bad rap, and then I need to convince those users to come back and trust the product again later on.
Hey Dave
I think the general concept of “launching” magnifies this feeling. I find myself in a similar position more often than not.
Imagine the complete inverse as a possible strategy to side step this situation.
That is, “no launch” 🙅♂️ 🚀 (tm). It could be as simple as deploying every merged feature branch right from very beginning of development. You’d always have a live product that way, in a constant cycle of improvement.
Also, you mention “the flood gates” which is interesting, as it paints the picture that you’re thinking you’ll instantly have 100s of users knocking on your door, it’s a similar thought pattern people sometimes get into when they think about scaling.. I suspect it’s a little misguided.
Maybe it’s just easier all round to build in the open from day 1. Deploy often and get comfy with publishing relevant information about progress where people will see the state of affairs for what it is?
@Shaunau - "Get comfy with publishing relevant information about progress" This feels right to me. The fear is in users coming and saying "this doesn't work for me, you've lost me forever." The ability to keep those users in a communication loop with updates to get them back in the door when I DO have the right features would go a long way. Thanks for the advice!
It's hard to draw the line sometimes. I think trying to get in the maindset of launching again and again helps to avoid that. As long as one core feature is working it's enough!
@sychedelix - Very true. The core feature I have now would be useful it just wouldn't be the full value I have in my mind. But even that core feature is a product in itself. So it should be worth launching. Thanks for the advice!
This happens to anyone, especially perfectionists. Can't remember the exact words to quote, but the idea is that most projects are launched later than they should have been done. If you have a stable version that solves the main problem. Launch today.
Ideally, you should learn from your users what to build next. Don't waste your time building stuff you think are killer. Go with your idea and grow it while actual users are using it and success will come along.
(I graduated Y Combinator start-up school and have quite a few projects under the belt)
@cip - "Go with your idea and grow it while actual users are using it" That's great advice. Won't know if I'm going in the right direction until actual users are on it. Thanks again!
Have you defined your product key message? What's the problem it solve? Because if you have done this you need to launch now! After that you add new features which make that problem even easier to solve.
And also keep in mind to have a good marketing strategy in order to know exactly how you'll gonna acquire users and how you keep engage with them until they decide to covert.
@sergiubungardean - Very true. The core concept is there and would be great for a lot of people. I'm so wrapped up in building solutions to objections I haven't really even received yet. Thanks for the advice!
Confused / Stuck / Upset customers are your best friend, the amount of useful and valid feedback you get from these people makes your product so much better in the long-term. As kind of mentioned in another comment, unless you expect thousands of customers over-night, it probably doesn't matter if you piss off or lose a few early users, play the long game.
Obtaining structured feedback on all my projects I knew was going to be difficult, so I built a tool called Bugfeedr to make it easy to collect feedback from my users. I simply create a new form for my project in Bugfeedr, then add a link in my footer to the form and done. Feel free to check it out here: https://www.bugfeedr.com/ - it's nice because now I don't get countless emails all the time, instead I get one email a day about any tickets that came in which I can then push into other management tools like Trello.
@Krazier "unless you expect thousands of customers over-night, it probably doesn't matter if you piss off or lose a few early users, play the long game." So so true. That's really my biggest concern. I launch on Product Hunt and get bashed because it's not valuable to people. I overcompensate by overbuilding for any complaints that may arise. But I don't know those complaints until I get users on there. Thanks for the advice!
Product Hunt users, are generally not a good representation of who your final customer will be anyway. So take their feedback and move forward.
It's easy to get sucked into this.
Who is the customer?
What is their problem?
How are you helping to solve the problem?
Is your current solution to the problem useful for some users?
Would they be willing to pay?
You probably wouldn't know the answers to these last two before you show it to people.
"Lean Startup" "4 Hour work week" and others talk about selling before building.
You should sell even before you build.
Without a product.
Just a landing/sales page.
To know if what your building is valuable to others and if you can find them in a cost efficient matter.
Otherwise you don't have a business.
There are many products built and die with ever having a business.
Stop building.
Put a sales page up.
Let people at least register for a waiting list.
Or better yet try to buy knowing a price, even without a payment processing page.
So you know someone care about this.
And is willing to pay.
Talk more to the people who do pay or are willing to pay.
The product can be improved for lifetimes - it doesn't mean it should even pass the alpha version.
@hatkyinc - This is great. I shouldn't be worried about not building something people will want because I should already know what that is. Thanks for the advice!