Startups Common Mistake #2
When Thomas Edison was developing the phonograph, he didn’t wait until he had a perfect model. He created a rough prototype and immediately started demonstrating it to the public. These early demonstrations were crucial. They provided feedback that helped Edison understand what worked and what didn’t, allowing him to refine his invention. The public’s reactions also helped him gauge the market demand and potential uses for the phonograph, which he might not have anticipated on his own.
The lesson from Edison is clear: if the core of your problem-solving works, launch your product — even if it has an ugly design or optional parts that crash and take time to fix. Edison’s willingness to publish his ideas early, receive feedback, and iterate based on real-world responses was key to his success.
Get your product out there, gather user feedback, and improve continuously. As Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, famously said, “If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.”
