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Launching a product can be nerve-wracking. Entrepreneurs often face the fear of judgment and failure. Kevin Systrom, co-founder of Instagram, experienced this firsthand with his earlier venture, Burbn. His story and the lessons learned from it highlight the importance of launching early and embracing feedback, even when it’s tough.
Photo: Business of Fashion
The Burbn Experience
Kevin Systrom reflects on his journey with Burbn, a check-in app that was the precursor to Instagram. "We stayed in private beta way too long," he admits. "How long is too long? I mean, it was like eight months or something since the first day we, you know, caught your line."
Systrom recalls the hesitation and fear that delayed Burbn's launch. "I remember thinking, 'Oh, we'll do it next week because we'll have this new feature.' It was this worry of like if I put it out there, we're gonna get judged," he says. This fear, while common, can be paralyzing. However, Systrom’s experience taught him a valuable lesson: early feedback is crucial, even if it’s negative.
"You want to fail if it's going to fail, right? You want to get that feedback," Systrom emphasizes. The initial rejection or criticism can be a powerful teacher. "That fear of putting something out and having it be rejected is just terrible, right? But at the same time, it really teaches you, like, listen, go do something else or focus on something else."
By finally launching Burbn, Systrom and his team discovered that users loved sharing photos. This insight led them to pivot and focus solely on photo sharing, giving birth to Instagram. The rest is history.
Other Examples of Launching Early
Systrom’s experience is echoed by other successful entrepreneurs. 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." Hoffman advocates for early launches to gather user feedback and iterate quickly.
Another example is Dropbox. Drew Houston, the co-founder, initially launched a simple demo video to gauge interest. The positive response confirmed the demand for a file-sharing service, and this early feedback was pivotal in shaping Dropbox’s development.
On the flip side, launching too late can be detrimental. Consider the case of Google Glass. Google’s smart glasses stayed in development for too long without sufficient real-world testing. When it finally launched, it was met with privacy concerns and technical issues that could have been addressed earlier in the development process.
Embracing the Feedback Loop
The key takeaway from these stories is the importance of embracing the feedback loop. Launching early allows entrepreneurs to:
Validate Assumptions: Early user feedback can validate or invalidate the core assumptions of your product.
Pivot Quickly: If the product isn’t resonating, early feedback provides the opportunity to pivot and focus on what users actually want.
Iterate Fast: Continuous feedback enables rapid iteration and improvement of the product.
Conclusion
Launching early can be intimidating, but it’s a critical step in building a successful product. Kevin Systrom’s journey from Bourbon to Instagram underscores the value of early feedback and the willingness to pivot based on user insights. As other successful entrepreneurs like Reid Hoffman and Drew Houston have shown, getting your product out there sooner rather than later can make all the difference. Don’t let the fear of judgment hold you back; embrace it, learn from it, and use it to create something truly great.
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