Stop solving champagne problems
The false progress trap killing startups
Founders obsess over domain names. Logos. Org structures at scale. Their runway shrinks. Their product sits untested.
I call these champagne problems—luxuries that only matter after you've succeeded. Perfecting trivial details creates a treadmill of false progress: a polished brand leads to endless site redesigns, which trigger marketing overhauls. While you chase a pristine mission statement, your competition ships.
This isn't theoretical—it's the pattern I see in early-stage founders daily. Startups rarely fail because their domain isn't a dot-com or their logo feels scrappy. They fail when they abandon fundamentals: build something people urgently want, find reliable distribution, survive long enough to prove you're right.
Vision matters, of course. Great companies think in decades, not quarters. But successful founders know exactly which decisions compound. ChatGPT thrived despite its clunky name because it unlocked capabilities that seemed impossible. Stripe launched as /dev/payments but relentlessly optimized developer experience. Airbnb snapped amateur apartment photos and sold cereal boxes while cultivating trust with hosts. These weren't shortcuts—they were strategic bets with lasting leverage.
Too many founders exhaust their runway debating frameworks, polishing cap tables, and chasing vanity metrics. Revenue stalls. Opportunities evaporate. Misplaced priorities silently kill startups every day. Champagne can wait. Your next customer won't.
Love it, Nikunj. As they say, Build the product then build the business and then build the company.
When we reverse the order, we don't have a company :)
Most indie developers may encounter these problems, but not the skilled ones. I've learned that product and marketing are of utmost importance. For example, after creating the AI analysis product, Excelmatic.ai (<u>https://excelmatic.ai</u>), I struggled far more with finding the right name than with securing a domain or designing a logo. Naming is crucial for a product's success. Therefore, it's best to prioritize marketing efforts as quickly as possible.
The name is so important because it is your brand. It should be easy to remember and easy to find. Otherwise, all your marketing efforts may be wasted.