Launch sooner by cutting features that don’t matter

When the first feature-layers of your project start to feel overwhelmingly large, it’s time to prune. Software teams call it “dialing down scope”—jettisoning nonessential features so you can ship a working version fast. That first release becomes a real-world lab where you learn what truly matters.

CoffeeRoast, a specialty coffee brand, cut its initial online store down to two product listings and a basic checkout. They deferred all the fancy filters, gift packaging, and customer reviews until after launch. In six weeks, they recovered their development costs and gathered thousands in revenue—then used those real sales to prioritize what to build next.

This minimum-viable approach transforms every constraint—time, budget, attention—into an advantage. By focusing only on must-have elements, you reduce risk, test assumptions quickly, and unlock the insights you need to guide future enhancements.

Tonight, list every feature you dreamed up for your project. Score each on a 1–5 scale for how mission-critical it is. Build a launch version using only the 4s and 5s. You’ll be amazed at how much faster you’ll go live—and how much you’ll learn from real-user feedback.