Article · 5 min read

Start with a cupcake

Des Traynor · Des Traynor, Intercom Blog Free Beginner

Traynor's cupcake metaphor says your first version should be small but whole and enjoyable, a real cupcake rather than a slice of unbaked cake. Every early release should deliver actual value to the user, not a broken preview of a bigger dream. It is a memorable way to decide whether your rough version is small-and-good or just unfinished.

  • Ship a small complete thing, not a fragment of a big thing
  • Each version should deliver real value on its own
  • Rough is fine if it still works, a broken slice is not
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The question it answers

  1. Should we ship an ugly, half-working version now or wait until it feels good enough to be proud of?

Read with it

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