Started over to build in public after adding more and more features to MVP scope
Over the last few months, I had been working on a new app. At first—like any project—I was extremely excited about it. I kept adding cool features and solving very specific edge cases.
The app worked... kinda. Despite working on it for months, there were still things missing that made it difficult to actually use and test the app myself.
Once I was close to the "MVP", I realized that I didn't think things through at the beginning and had to rethink the whole concept of the app.
This is what happens when you don't ship early and often, and don't ask for feedback from the outside.
Motivation for the project was quickly fading.
So I decided to start over from scratch and build in public instead.
My goal is to ship an MVP as soon as possible and get feedback from people who are interested in testing the app.
I'm posting in the following Twitter thread that I started a few days ago. Another few days and the MVP should be ready for testing!
I also posted an early tester signup form in the thread and already have a few people waiting to test the app.
From months of work with nothing shipped to an MVP within a week! 🚀
Love the idea of "starting from scratch".
That's one lesson I learned from my former startup. There's no merit/benefit in building in silos. If it is the customers who gotta ultimately pay for it, we better build with them, taking their feedback in real time.
Yes, that's right! Get feedback as early as possible. If you're not uncomfortable with shipping something you probably waited too long.
Really loved the idea of the thread where you "log" your progress building the app.
That's how real #BuildInPublic should be :)
Good luck!
These are usually the types of threads I find most interesting and valuable when I'm on the other side. It's also a great way for you to log your work to look back on it later.
Thank you! :)
This is my first post, so I am new to the forum...but not new to the field.... in business roofing
I have done many projects with Standing Seam Roofs. The key element is how the roof itself is fastened to the substrate or roof deck. The loads must be transferred from the array to the building foundation, and how this is done is the key element to how its fastened. We have seen many systems with an upload force reaching values close to the take off of some big airplanes, so these are real issues to contend with. The upload on these connections is great, and if the roof was not installed to allow for this up load force, it may not be able to handle a non rail system. Typical rule of thumb is double the roof pan fasteners to add solar. So if the roof manufacture will allow solar installed (some do not allow attachment of additional equipment) in the first place, what is the recommended fastener spacing? If they say 12"" on center, then you would use 6"" on center to attach the roof pans to the roof deck. Also if they say a #8 screw, we would use a #10 or 12, based upon our engineers report. I also have been required to use extra long screws to reach roof joists and also to add blocking below the roof deck between joist. On existing roofs we have many times had to add a S-5 to every seam and use rails, so that we had enough connections to as many seams as possible to spread out the load. Even to the extent of extending the rails beyond the array to hit several more roof seams. Our design wind load can be as high as 140MPH, especially if near canyons or along the coast, so again much is dependent on your location, height of structure and surrounding structures or terrain and the design loads you are having to deal with. For sure this is an area for an engineer to do some calculations on the loads and determine a best method forward. get more guide goldentreeroofing
I hope this sheds some light on why we like rails on systems of this type! Don't know .Thanks
Hey,
I think this is the best feature ever introduced by the indie hackers on this https://restonroof.com/ and I am dam sure this will gonna helps many many people in this regard.
I am not clear on what the app does? it clocks in , clocks out and display the time along with date is that it or i am missing something?
The app is very simple at the moment. You can see where I'm going with it (the problem I'm trying to solve) if you read the Twitter thread—I'm talking about the "why" and "how" there.
It's very courageous to build in public. I am currently pivoting after working a year a business Idea that didn't meet the market need. I am terrifyied to fail and even more to let others know I failed.
I really want to start over and talk about how we are currently pivoting but the process is scary. What if we look like amateur ? What if we publicly don't reach our goals? It's 10x harder than privately not hitting your goals.
I will still try to build in public. Anyone who struggled with the same thing? How did you overcame it?
Failure is always inevitable to some degree, and it's not something to be ashamed of. It's rather something to embrace. If you can't admit failure, there's no way you can learn from it—and that's a big mistake. The earlier you fail (and embrace it), the better.
Doing it all in public is a whole lot scarier, as you now got a bunch of judging eyes on you. But I don't think people will remember your failures. They will remember you owning up to it, learning from it, not giving up—persisting, and eventually building something even greater.
Just curious about thread approach; do you plan to only post it in thread, not regular tweets? What is the difference/benefit there, considering that if you post daily consistently thread can grow quite a lot?
These are some great questions, and I actually don't know the answer to them.
I have seen threads that go on for years (e.g. https://twitter.com/stroughtonsmith/status/1193299960663625729) and thought it would be fun to try.
I wasn't sure at first but I decided to just go for it instead of thinking too much about it. But I would love to hear about people's experiences with single mega-thread vs. single posts/smaller threads.
Quick question @alexandersandberg did you try to do an analysis on the features using UX MoSCow prioritization?
This would probably help to draw the line of your MVP features.
This is a great idea, but not something I have done. As you can see in the Twitter thread, I started thinking about the "why" and went from there, but without frameworks.
In the early tester signup form I put together, I ask what you would like the app to help you with.
Hopefully, these answers, together with the feedback from the very early MVP, can guide me in the right direction.
Keep on the good work @alexandersandberg! I have just submitted my feedback.
Thank you!
Congrats and welcome to the build in public movement. I have interviewed many bootstrappers and I have noticed that many successful ones start by finding their audience before even finding a problem to solve. I made this step by step guide that might help you getting started
Thank you!
As this app was born out of a need to solve my own problem, not necessarily make money from it, I already had an audience when starting: myself.
The app will obviously grow beyond that as I'm asking and collecting feedback from people using it, but this is a good enough start for my app.
But if the end goal is bootstrapping a successful, profitable business, my approach is definitely not the best one.
In my research this wasn't the case (try to read 20+ founder interviews for eg.) The thing is, the founders who preach 'build an audience before the product' are the loudest ones, so it's easy to conclude everyone is building an audience before a product. If you read founder interviews you get a different conclusion.
I am aware that are multiple ways to build a successful company. But I really believe that for a bootstrapped company building the product after finding the audience is really much better. Also keep in mind that just because you do the audience first approach it does not mean you are building in public. But can you recommend some interviews for me to read? I am curious now ;)