And make no mistake, a startup is an experiment.

Startups that survive the first few tough years do not follow the traditional product-centric launch model espoused by product managers or the venture capital community. Through trial and error, hiring and firing, successful startups all invent a parallel process to Product Development.

Everything starts with Version 0.1 – it’s the very first iteration, the prototype, of your app (Version 1.0 is reserved as the first version shipped to the public). In this version you want to focus on the most basic set of features that will make your app unique, useful and different. It’s often called the MVP (or the

Disciplined Entrepreneurship by Bill Aulet. I won’t repeat or even summarize what he wrote. If you haven’t yet launched or achieved more than $1 million of revenue, go read Bill’s book first.