Hey Reader,
A founder with deep domain expertise came to me this week.
She was facing a choice that would define the next year of her life:
Build the big, all-in-one system she was passionate about, or start with a tiny, single-feature product that could be built in a week.
She wanted my opinion on which path was better.
I told her my opinion is irrelevant. So is hers.
When you face a strategic crossroads like this, your passion isn't an asset; it's a source of bias. It makes you fall in love with your solution before you've confirmed the market's problem.
Your gut feeling is the most expensive way to make a multi-year decision.
The only thing that matters is market evidence.
Before you commit to a path, your first and only job is to design the cheapest, fastest, and lowest-code experiment possible to get that evidence. Let the market - not your conviction - decide whether you should build the comprehensive suite or the single-feature tool.
At a critical juncture, you must subordinate your vision to objective market data.
Speak soon, — Dmitry