There’s a scene that sooner or later every entrepreneur goes through.

2 a.m.

Cold coffee.

You staring at your screen.

And in your head, three different voices start talking. All of them dangerous.

1.	“I’ll launch it now and fix it later.”

Result: an immature, confusing product, and people think

“This isn’t for me.” End of story.

2.	“No, wait… it’s not perfect yet.”

You keep adding features, details, improvements.

Months go by. Sometimes years.

When you finally launch, no one cares.

3.	“I need to explain everything, it’s an advanced product.”

Result: a complicated product, endless onboarding, infinite tutorials.

People look at it and think:

“Too much effort. I’ll pass.”

And this is where the real question appears:

Am I launching too early or too late?

The MVP myth everyone gets wrong

Another myth to debunk is this:

“If you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you launched too late.”

The Lean Startup movement had a massive impact.

The suggested approach is simple: build a version of your product that requires the minimum amount of time and effort to validate two things:

1.	Is the problem you’re solving actually important?

2.	Are there people willing to pay for your solution?

This is where the concept of the MVP: Minimum Viable Product comes from.

Its real purpose is to learn fast, not to look good.

The problem is this:

If you launch an MVP to a large customer base or a big community, that first version becomes your brand.

And once your brand is associated with a weak product, it’s very hard to recover.

MVP works only at the right stage

The rule is simple: MVPs only work in certain phases.

If you’re at the beginning:

•	Small following

•	No expectations

•	A small, curious audience

The MVP works perfectly.

You launch as early as possible, test your assumptions, learn from a small but passionate community, and improve version after version.

Over time, your brand becomes associated with:

•	Continuous improvement

•	Customer focus

•	Innovation

When influencers and large groups of potential customers hear about you, you’ll be ready.

When MVP becomes dangerous

If instead you already have:

•	A large audience

•	High expectations

•	A reputation built over time

Launching an MVP can be disastrous.

A product that doesn’t meet expectations:

•	Disappoints the market

•	Damages trust

•	Pulls down the perception of your existing products as well

In this case, your first public version should not be an MVP.

It should be an EVP: Exceptional Viable Product.

Stop for a moment and answer honestly:

•	Am I testing with a small group? Choose an MVP.

•	Am I launching in front of thousands of users? Choose an EVP.

This is not a race to launch first.

It’s about choosing the right strategy for the right moment.

If you want to grow without burning your reputation, build the right product at the right time.

Now it’s your turn:

Which stage are you really in?