Sell from day one
You don't need a finished product to start selling. A 5-day prototype opened the conversations — and the 30 days before the first payment were enough to build the first real version with a design partner.
When we started Ciro, my partners thought we needed the product built before talking to anyone. My experience at Riqra said the opposite.
So we built a prototype in five days. A mockup — it wasn't real software yet. But it worked well enough to open conversations, collect feedback, and start prioritizing.
The math founders skip
Here's what most people miss. Between closing the deal, signing the contract, and receiving the first payment, at least 30 days go by. That waiting time isn't dead time.
It's exactly enough to build the first real version — next to a design partner who is already telling you what they need. You sell the mockup, then you build the product while the paperwork moves.
You don't need a product at 100% to sell. You need a customer real enough to build with.
Why the first customers are gold
The first customers aren't just revenue. They tell you what to build, in what order, and what doesn't matter yet. Building without them is guessing. Building with them is a shortcut.
So don't wait for the finished product to go out and talk. Find the people who have the problem, show them something they can react to, and build it with them.
If you're a founder sitting on a half-built product, the question isn't whether it's ready. It's whether you're waiting for perfect before you let a real customer pull it out of you.