By Reid Hoffman
If you're not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you've launched too late.
— Reid Hoffman
This interview includes this interesting corollary:
No matter how long you wait to release your first version, you will be embarrassed by it.
Reid Hoffman was one of the original PayPal Mafia, and then co-founder of LinkedIn.
While the point of an aphorism is to convey a rule or advice in a crisp, standalone way, I continue to get questions from people about it. Some challenge its assumptions. Others simply want more elaboration.
Reid expands on the original idea in this essay, appropriately published on LinkedIn:
If There Aren’t Any Typos In This Essay, We Launched Too Late!
You may have heard me say: If you're not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you've launched too latehttps://t.co/r4JyKzzyWO
— Reid Hoffman (@reidhoffman) March 29, 2017
See also Product Management on the concept of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).