What are you NOT building?
Before Instagram, there was Burbn!
Pretty much everyone around you has Instagram on their phones today (except that one person who's off social media).
But they didn't get here in a day, and they definitely did not get it right on day one.
Kevin Systrom initially built an app called Burbn in 2010, which did everything: check-ins, future plans with friends, photo sharing, points, and badges. But after some time of 0 traction, they realized almost no one cared about most of the features — except one: photo sharing.
So they killed everything else, stripped Burbn down to just photos + filters, and launched it as Instagram. And the rest is history and a lot of doomscrolling.
We got Instagram by NOT shipping Burbn, and that is today's tip of the day.
Tip of the Day
You have five weeks. Decide what you're NOT building.
This sounds like a joke, but it's not. As you go about finalising your idea and to-be-shipped MVP, you must prioritise tasks/features that:
• are integral parts of what you're building;
• can be achieved in this timeframe
Everything else that is part of the big picture, or a good-to-have, should be pushed to your post-deadline plan.
Prioritising separates great submissions from the good ones. All of your dev and design focus will go into shipping fast, taking feedback, and doing a few things right.
Doing this small exercise will help you ship an MVP that will reflect focus, a future roadmap, and clarity of thought.
News from the Ecosystem
ICYMI: Our very own Anatoly Yakovenko appeared as a guest during the recent All-In Summit. It's an excellent interview on Solana, crypto's future, stablecoins, and interesting crypto verticals emerging today.