Founders: launch your startup sooner than you think

If your goal with your launch is to learn, then you can't fail

In this episode of Office Hours, Y Combinator partners discuss the common fears and myths surrounding product launches for startups.

They explore why founders often delay launching, the importance of early launches, and strategies for overcoming launch anxiety. The conversation covers various aspects of launching, from dealing with rejection to learning from unsuccessful launches.

Key Takeaways:

The Fear of Launching

Many first-time founders are scared to launch their products due to fear of failure or criticism. They worry that nobody will use their product or that a poor launch will doom their startup. However, this fear is often unfounded and can be detrimental to a startup's progress. Launching, even if imperfect, is crucial for gaining real-world feedback and learning from customers. The partners emphasize that most people don't remember or care about initial launches, and founders can always iterate and relaunch.

What's the worst case? Nobody sees you? Well, you launch again one week later. Everything's okay.

The Myth of the Perfect Launch

There's a widespread misconception, especially among founders who have worked at large tech companies, that launches need to be perfect and grandiose. This "pop culture knowledge" often leads founders to delay launching in pursuit of perfection. The partners debunk this myth, pointing out that most successful companies had unmemorable initial launches. They stress that for startups, quick, imperfect launches are often more beneficial than delayed, polished ones.

Learning from Launches

Most people don’t remember product launches. Did you ever remember Uber’s or Google's launch?

Launching early and often is crucial for startup success. Each launch provides valuable learning opportunities, helping founders understand their customers better and refine their products. Even if a launch doesn't go well, it offers insights into what needs improvement.

The partners advise treating launches as experiments and focusing on learning rather than achieving immediate success. This mindset shift can help alleviate the pressure and anxiety associated with launching.

Finding Early Adopters

Early launches are essential for finding the right customers - those who have a pressing need for the product and are willing to use even an imperfect version. The partners suggest that instead of trying to appeal to everyone, founders should focus on finding and serving their ideal customers first. These early adopters can become passionate advocates for the product and provide crucial feedback for improvement.

Overcoming Rejection and Criticism

Many founders avoid launching because they fear rejection or criticism. However, the partners emphasize that learning to handle and even appreciate rejection is a crucial skill for entrepreneurs. They advise founders to view criticism as valuable feedback rather than personal attacks, and to remember that not everyone will be their customer - and that's okay.

Diagnosing and Solving Launch Problems

If a launch doesn't go well, the partners recommend treating it as an analytical problem to solve. This involves examining where the drop-offs are occurring, tweaking variables one at a time (like messaging or target audience), and continually iterating. They stress the importance of identifying and challenging assumptions that may have been wrong, and developing new hypotheses based on the launch data.

The Right Time to Launch

The partners argue that as long as the product provides some minimum value and actually works, it's not too early to launch. They encourage founders to launch with a "janky MVP" (Minimum Viable Product) rather than waiting for a polished, feature-complete version. The key is to focus on the core value proposition and be willing to handle some processes manually at first, rather than building out full automation that delays the launch.

Notable Quotes:

1. "If you don't launch, you're being an idiot. If you're a first-time founder, you're probably going to take way too long to launch."
2. "Until you have launched the first time, you're worried about launching. That's kind of scary. Once you've launched once, and then even if it doesn't go well, like what's the worst case? Nobody sees you. Well, you launch again one week later, everything's okay."
3. "If you have a hundred signups on your website, it's more about filtering down those 100 into the five or six who actually have the problem you're addressing, who have such a hair-on-fire problem they might use your janky MVP solution."
4. "The best founders just view everything like they're learning, they're sponges. And so I think they just treat this as something like a problem they need to solve and diagnose."
5. "If you look at risky decisions and you say to yourself, 'Well, my goal with this is actually to learn,' then I can't fail. If your goal with your launch is to learn, it's not like 'Oh, we got to make $10,000 in revenue.' It's just to learn. Then you would do it way faster, and you will be successful no matter what happens."