Drew Houston faced a challenge: how do you demonstrate a file-syncing service without asking users to install anything? A video.
Key insight: You can validate different aspects of your business model separately. Also, waitlists can sometimes be too noisy of a signal, but a more down-funnel approach can help vet people out more.
It’s not about “launching”. It’s about getting your product in the hands of the first users as fast as possible, so that you get the feedback you need to keep going.