Book · Short book, readable online

Getting Real

Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson · 37signals Free Beginner

This is the canonical case for building less, and its chapters Build Less and Underdo Your Competition speak straight to your question. The 37signals argument is that doing fewer things well, and skipping what you can avoid, is how a small team ships something real. Read it to give yourself permission to cut scope and lean on tools for everything that is not the point.

• Doing less on purpose is a feature, not a compromise, for a small team
• Every part you build is a part you must maintain forever
• Ship the smallest thing that delivers the core value, then learn