The Importance of Building Incrementally

I see this over and over again.

Founder has a brilliant idea, spends many months (or years) building the perfect product, launches product, and….crickets.

Nobody shows up.

I’ve made the same mistake many times over my career and I’ve promised myself to stop doing it.

If you're a perfectionist who wants to deliver exceptional work to the world, this approach can be a tough pill to swallow.

But there's a simple analogy (coined by Henrick Kniberge) that perfectly illustrates the importance of incremental building – the concept of building a car.

Approach #1: The Four-Year Car

Imagine spending two years meticulously designing a groundbreaking car, with the grand plan of launching it to customers in four years (ambitious!).

You start by painstakingly crafting the wheels, then the body, the interior, and finally, it all comes together. You proudly launch your new car, only to discover that nobody likes it. It took you four years to reach this realization.

Company fails.

Approach #2: The Incremental Journey

Now, consider a different approach. Instead of diving into a multi-year project, start by launching something simple that gets people from point A to B: a skateboard!

You gather quick user feedback and, within weeks, release an improved version: a scooter!

Soon after, you launch a bicycle, then a motorcycle, and finally, a car.

Each step along the way involves tons of user feedback cycles, ensuring that your final product is exactly what customers want.

The beauty of this approach is that you not only end up with a product that resonates with your audience, but you also ship faster.

With each iteration, you solve problems that pave the way for the next product release. This incremental journey is how even massive companies like SpaceX operate – they learn through building.

Start with a skateboard, not a car.