Crossing the threshold

Earlier this week, the small software company I co-founded experienced a major milestone: We launched our first product. The Craigslist app that we've been working on for months finally hit the Apple App Store. It was a huge relief to get the news from Apple that it had been approved, and it felt great when feedback started coming in. The app worked, people liked certain features (especially being able to browse Craigslist using pictures) and they wanted to tell their friends about it.

However, by other metrics of success, this was nothing.

Had the app gotten a million downloads? No.

Had Walt Mossberg or David Pogue written it up? No. 

Had it made the company any revenue? No! (it's currently freely available)

But it was a milestone nonetheless. Not just a business milestone, or a career milestone. Both Sam and I have experienced these before, working for big companies on high-profile products. Our app is much smaller and hardly known outside a small circle of early adopters, but it means so much to both of us. Releasing the app is also a personal milestone, proving that Invantory the company is not just talking the talk, but walking the walk. We can do this. It might take time to make it great, but we've crossed the threshold.