Product from Scratch #1: Picking the Idea and Ruthlessly Cutting Scope

In this series we'll build a product from idea to launch, step by step, with all its reality. Part one: picking the idea — and the harder part, cutting the scope.

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My criteria for picking an idea

1. Do I have this problem myself? Scratching your own itch is the cheapest form of user research.
2. How fast can I reach the first user? An idea without a distribution channel isn't an idea.
3. Can one person ship it? Ideas that need a team don't fit on this workbench.

Cutting the scope

The first draft of an MVP is always too big. My rule: write the list, delete half, defer half of what's left with a "v2" label. The remaining quarter is the real MVP.

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In the next part we build the first prototype: choosing the stack and a one-week build plan.