Article

How To Build Product As A Small Startup

Michael Seibel · Y Combinator Blog Free Beginner

Michael Seibel lays out a concrete process for shipping as a small team, including deciding on an actual release schedule and pushing yourself to launch something imperfect quickly rather than waiting. It's a good complement to the more famous YC launch talk because it focuses on the internal habit, how you decide what and when to ship, rather than the external announcement.

  • Set an actual release schedule instead of shipping whenever things feel ready.
  • Launching something imperfect and fast beats a long wait for something polished.
  • How you decide what to build next should feed directly into what you ship and announce.

The question it answers

  1. How often should I be launching, is once a quarter too much?

Read with it

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  2. The definitive talk that reframes launching from a one-shot event into a repeatable tactic, exactly this category's thesis. YC... YC Startup Library Video · ~25 min How to Launch (Again and Again) Kat Manalac (Y Combinator)
  3. The official, primary-source guide straight from Product Hunt, it dispels myths and sets realistic expectations, unlike the sea... Product Hunt Article · guide / multi-page Product Hunt Launch Guide Product Hunt
  4. The definitive playbook on distribution, it catalogs all 19 channels and gives you the Bullseye framework to systematically... Portfolio / Penguin Book · book (~240 pages) Traction: How Any Startup Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth Gabriel Weinberg & Justin Mares
  5. A punchy, contrarian classic on building a lean, sane, profitable company from the founders of Basecamp. It's the antidote to... 37signals Book · ~288 pages Rework Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
  6. Arvid Kahl bootstrapped and sold a SaaS solo, and now publishes the most practical ongoing guidance for one-person and... thebootstrappedfounder.com Podcast · long The Bootstrapped Founder (blog & podcast) Arvid Kahl
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