Prototypes are Dead. RIP.

A new way of creating has emerged, and it’s a breath of fresh air — fully functional V1's

C.W.Morton

Feb 28, 2024

A new way of creating has emerged, and it’s a breath of fresh air — fully functional V1's

Beloved members of the programming community:

Today, we gather to pay our respects to a once-pivotal figure in the startup journey: the half-working prototype.

Instead, let’s embrace a new era of product development.

Let’s take a moment to acknowledge the value prototypes and MVPs once provided.

Prototypes were essential for gauging the validity of a product concept, offering potential customers a glimpse of what could be.

Often, they were mere shells, lacking substantial functionality, and needing a very good sales pitch to find funding.

MVPs

These prototypes evolved into MVPs (minimum viable products) — basic yet functional versions of the product, aimed at gathering user feedback and refining the business model by selling the product to a round of early adopters who are more tolerant of bugs and failures, often in exchange for a lower price entry.

Yet, this cycle of iteration has become akin to a never-ending struggle.

The traditional approach dictates discarding prototypes and MVPs once their purpose is served.

But when is the right time to let go?

How can one bear to abandon a creation, teeming with insights and potential?

And when does it become feasible to transition from iteration to a full-scale rebuild?

Entrepreneurs find themselves trapped in a relentless loop of testing and refining, with MVPs resembling makeshift structures held together by sheer will.

In fact, this is one of the reasons that I have avoided creating software and selling it as a solo-preneur.

It just creates more work!

That is…. until new solutions made it easier to put together a fully functional app without needing to hire a team of developers, while customer support can be handled by a well trained chatbot.

See : A Chatbot has Stolen My Job!

Embracing a new paradigm in the realm of software creation and deployment, the “No-Code” movement challenges traditional methods, advocating for a more streamlined approach and ease of use.

“No-Code” aims to put software development in the hands of individuals with no background in coding, whose creative ideas come from a completely different backdrop and may conceptualize many outside-of-the-box concepts and product ideas.

Empowered by modern platforms entrepreneurs eschew prototyping altogether, opting to develop fully-functional applications from the outset because a budget for a team of developers is only needed for the most complicated of workflow designs.

Enter : Make.

www.make.com

In today’s dynamic landscape, efficiency reigns supreme. Every company, regardless of industry, must optimize resources and minimize waste.

However, launching entails more than just executing Plan A. Philip Lakin of NoCodeOps emphasizes the importance of experimentation:

“You don’t even know what your problem is yet.”

Make provides a solution — enabling rapid development and iteration, propelling startups from conception to scale in record time

Make Scenario Builder. Source : https://www.0hands.com/

The journey doesn’t end with launch; it evolves.

Make facilitates continuous refinement, allowing founders to adapt and grow alongside their product.

For those seeking investment, a functional product speaks volumes.

Merely the idea of a product is hardly sufficient anymore.

Eleanor Jacobs, founder of Familial, encapsulates this shift in mindset:

“It’s not about an MVP; it’s about Familial V1.”

Imagine entering a pitch meeting armed with a working solution and a roadmap for future enhancements.

Farewell to the past, welcome to the future As we bid adieu to prototypes, we usher in a new era of innovation. Goodbye, prototypes; hello, V1.

To get people started, Make comes with hundreds of Scenario Builder templates, both created by the Make team, and also created by the community of users on the platform.