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Comment by falcor84 | Hacker News Reader

I agree that there's probably a general rule here. I remember reading that when Xiaomi was founded, Lei Jun wanted them to first work on a small software product to build the new team and get the creative process going, before beginning work on a new phone

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This only works if the investors believe enough in you to keep the funding going. I worked for a startup that decided to do the 'we'll work on a small project first to get our feet wet before working on the main idea'.

We did just that, put it out there, it didn't do so well, and the the board thought they weren't going to make their money back on the main idea and pulled the plug before we really got started on it.

If we had just worked on the big idea to begin with they wouldn't have pulled the plug anywhere near as quick, as there would be nothing in the market yet to underperform and give them a scare.

To be fair, those board members didn't have any knowledge of how a software-based startup works. They came from real estate and hospitality industries, and were openly and proudly ignorant about tech.

It’s possible that pulling the plug was still the right move.

Not really disagreeing with that in my particular circumstance. But on a more general note, if you're on the startup side and trying to decide whether you should do the small warmup app or not, keep in mind that doing so will give data that the board may or may not like and give them a reason to make a case to shut things down.

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