Solo makers: What to Cut Before Launch and What’s Non Negotiable?
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I'm three weeks from launch and I have a list of fourteen things I could still build. I know I can't build all of them. What I don't have is a rule for deciding.
The rule I've been using "cut anything that isn't core" is useless, because everything feels core when you're the one who built it.
What I'm trying to get to is a single non-negotiable: the one thing that, if it's missing, the product isn't the product. Everything else is a candidate for cutting.
So for the solo makers here: what was your one non-negotiable thing at launch, and what did you cut that you thought you couldn't? And looking back, did cutting it hurt, or did nobody notice?
I suspect the answer is "nobody noticed," but I want to hear it from people who've actually shipped.
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i've already released my product but looking to launch here in a couple of days. it's not feature set i was focused on—it was the core experience being absolutely bug-free in all happy paths. i wouldn't want a crash or freeze or some blocker happening on one of the common flows to be a user's first impression of the app. that's worst case scenario on launch day in my eyes. as for the cutting question, i have an option allowing open source projects to use my app for free at the highest tier. i can implement that later when/if there's actual demand for it.