Is it important to test out your products before launch?

Question

Recently I've known a few startups who was doing great for the first year, and honestly, I was a fan of their products. But after a while, I felt that they were just coming out with new things just for the sake of releasing something new. I lost interest in their stuff after a while.
This made me wonder if is it important to find out about public opinions before a product is launched. 
What do you think?

Paul Sutton · Accepted Answer

Hey Joslyn,
I know what you mean by "just coming out with new things for the sake of releasing something new". I think this most often happens when companies are not interacting with their users enough, so they do not know what the users want.
Perhaps I can provide a framework for building a startup that addresses the problem you bring up:
1. Know if you are solving a real problem
1.a. Make sure you know the real life potential user you are solving the problem for, and ask them many questions about this problem
3. After understanding the problem, build a product that solves the most basic version of the problem
4. Ensure there are no major/breaking bugs
5. Launch
6. Talk to users and figure out if you are effectively solving their problem
7. Iterate

Rich Watson · Answer

absolutely

Joslyn · Answer

@robert_sutton1 Thank you Paul!

Is it important to test out your products before launch?

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