Not “failed”. Not “crushed it”. Just… shipped it.
And here’s the brutal summary I wish someone had slapped me with on day one:
Build the MVP — and for the love of god, stop there. Then immediately switch your brain to distribution.
I spent almost a full year polishing features, refactoring code, improving edge cases that no user ever asked for. I told myself I was being “serious” and “professional”.
Reality check: I was procrastinating on marketing.
Only now do I realize how backwards my thinking was. You don’t earn the right to market after building something perfect. Marketing is part of building the product.
Some other things I learned the hard way:
• Almost every idea is good if it solves a real pain. Execution and distribution matter more than originality. • “Find your audience” is good advice — but it’s much easier when you’re early or niche. If you’re not first, you need a sharper angle, not a bigger product. • Silence is the worst feedback. No hate, no love, no usage = no positioning. • If users don’t complain, they don’t care yet.
Now I’m in the fun phase: mild panic The product exists, the code works, and I’m suddenly realizing that none of that automatically creates users.
So I’m doing the uncomfortable part late:
talking to strangers
posting in public
admitting I don’t have traction yet
If you’re building right now and still “adding just one more feature” — this is your sign.
Ship earlier. Market sooner. Be wrong faster.
If this post helps even one person stop overbuilding, my year wasn’t completely wasted.