Building your first product? Here's what I've seen kill startups before they even launch:

1. Building too much, too soon.

You don't need 47 features at launch. You need 3 that work perfectly. Ship the smallest version that proves your idea, then iterate based on real user feedback. Every extra feature before launch is money and time you can't get back.

2. Hiring based on hourly rate, not outcome.

The cheapest devs are almost never the cheapest option. A $15/hr team that takes 6 months costs more than a $100/hr team that ships in 3 weeks. Always ask: "what's the cost to get to launch?" — not "what's your rate?"

3. No clear scope before writing code.

If your dev team starts coding before you've agreed on exactly what's being built, you're funding an experiment — not a project. A good agency will push back and force clarity before touching a line of code.

We build MVPs and starter products for founders who want to move fast without burning cash. If that's you, check out our Starter Project package.