When to Launch Your Startup and When to Wait

Michael says founders may mistake big-company pace for startup pace, and that moving fast can feel uncomfortable. Instacart began with a rough service that relied on people driving to stores, while Brex had a working virtual card before it had a user interface.

Brad says founders can delay because they imagine a perfect public reaction and fear people will notice flaws. The partners argue that launch is not a one-time event: founders can show the product repeatedly and improve it from what they learn. A waitlist alone does not provide feedback from people using the product.

The partners describe founders calling a waitlist a launch, then hesitating to let those people use the product. Brad points to Magic, which launched two days after its idea with a website and phone number, inviting people to text requests so the team could learn from real use.

Brad says Rippling took roughly a year and a half or two years to officially launch, but Parker Conrad had unusually deep experience from building HR software at Zenefits. Michael adds that Conrad's earlier product was initially a set of forms without a backend, and that this first round of learning helped justify a more substantial later build.

Michael warns that founders may know only a small part of the story behind famous companies. He suggests reviewing early company blogs, screenshots, and feature announcements to see how simple the first versions were. He says founders with Conrad's relevant prior experience may choose differently, while others should launch and move faster.