Your first version in two weeks

A few years ago, a first version took three months and a team. Today one person with AI tools can ship something that works in two weeks.

But speed is useless if you build the wrong thing. The trick is cutting scope ruthlessly.

Week one: shrink it

• Write the problem in one sentence, and the user in one sentence
• Pick one job the user can finish from start to end
• Sketch the screens on paper before you open any tool
• Build the skeleton with a coding assistant, and use ready-made services for login, payments, and the database

Week two: ship it

• Connect payments, even if it's just a hosted checkout page
• Use it yourself on your phone as if you were a customer
• Check security: no secret keys in the code, permissions set properly
• Hand it to five real customers, not your friends

What to postpone

The rule: anything that doesn't stop the customer from finishing that one job can wait. An admin dashboard, lots of settings, a mobile app when the web will do, a perfect design. All of it can come later.

Your first version should embarrass you a little. If it doesn't, you probably shipped it too late.

Start today: write down the one job your customer will finish, and put a ship date 14 days from now in your calendar.