I was talking with a VC today when he questioned my decision to limit my alpha testers to a select few once I received the feedback I needed. I told him that I made a conscious choice not to rack up users knowing that we had issues to resolve. I decided that the product was NOT good enough to open it up to a wider audience. I’m a big believer that first impressions matter and that it’s hard in this ADD world to get people to give you a second chance. So I chose to get it right before I open the door to the thousands of people who are standing by. I see it as having respect for the user.
But in this age of lean startups and pivots, I seem to be in the minority. I get that you want your product to be used by millions but that only works if you have product/market fit. And that means that your product has to resonate with the target market. To me, it means putting your best foot forward.
Am I proud of what we’ve built? Abso-fucking-lutely. But knowing what I know from the users we have, I believe that I need to address some of the big issues before I go out to my network and ask them to come onboard. I hate repetition and so the last thing we need as we’re making improvements is to hear what we already know over and over again.
I really believe that sometimes getting it right trumps speed. Especially if you’re building a company for the long-term. Here’s hoping I’m right!
I’m on board with you!