Nick Martel

What we are seeing is actually the perfect example of an MVP, a minimum viable product in action. An MVP is the earliest version of a product you can possibly release and still have at work. It's not meant to be polished. It's meant to be functional. This way, you can test user love and your early adopters can give the product feedback.

What we are seeing is actually the perfect example of an MVP, a minimum viable product in action. An MVP is the earliest version of a product you can possibly release and still have at work. It's not meant to be polished. It's meant to be functional. This way, you can test user love and your early adopters can give the product feedback.

What we are seeing is actually the perfect example of an MVP, a minimum viable product in action. An MVP is the earliest version of a product you can possibly release and still have at work. It's not meant to be polished. It's meant to be functional. This way, you can test user love and your early adopters can give the product feedback.

Jack and I have worked in the tech industry, and this industry, it thrives off MVPs. And founders, they've raised millions of dollars off of some really rough looking version ones. When Airbnb launched in 2008, it was a janky looking website called airbedandbreakfast.com. But even the ultra bare bones version was enough to prove the concept and land Airbnb's first $20,000 investment.

Jack and I have worked in the tech industry, and this industry, it thrives off MVPs. And founders, they've raised millions of dollars off of some really rough looking version ones. When Airbnb launched in 2008, it was a janky looking website called airbedandbreakfast.com. But even the ultra bare bones version was enough to prove the concept and land Airbnb's first $20,000 investment.

Jack and I have worked in the tech industry, and this industry, it thrives off MVPs. And founders, they've raised millions of dollars off of some really rough looking version ones. When Airbnb launched in 2008, it was a janky looking website called airbedandbreakfast.com. But even the ultra bare bones version was enough to prove the concept and land Airbnb's first $20,000 investment.

Today, Airbnb is worth $80 billion. And for Don's Oregon Trail, this MVP of a game is being validated in the ultimate way. Sadly, there's no $20,000 checks floating around this junior high school. But as Don, Paul, and Bill watch their Oregon Trail game blow up, Bill wonders if they should find a way to monetize this thing. What if this game is their meal ticket?

Today, Airbnb is worth $80 billion. And for Don's Oregon Trail, this MVP of a game is being validated in the ultimate way. Sadly, there's no $20,000 checks floating around this junior high school. But as Don, Paul, and Bill watch their Oregon Trail game blow up, Bill wonders if they should find a way to monetize this thing. What if this game is their meal ticket?

Today, Airbnb is worth $80 billion. And for Don's Oregon Trail, this MVP of a game is being validated in the ultimate way. Sadly, there's no $20,000 checks floating around this junior high school. But as Don, Paul, and Bill watch their Oregon Trail game blow up, Bill wonders if they should find a way to monetize this thing. What if this game is their meal ticket?

Not just an aha moment, but a cha-ching moment. Now, that is a beautiful thought, but that thought passes. Don and his friends, they're planning to become teachers, not game designers. Besides, this is 1971. It was pre-arcade boom, pre-space invaders. So the idea of royalties from a computer game, it sounds absurd. That's why Bill shrugs the idea off.

Not just an aha moment, but a cha-ching moment. Now, that is a beautiful thought, but that thought passes. Don and his friends, they're planning to become teachers, not game designers. Besides, this is 1971. It was pre-arcade boom, pre-space invaders. So the idea of royalties from a computer game, it sounds absurd. That's why Bill shrugs the idea off.

Not just an aha moment, but a cha-ching moment. Now, that is a beautiful thought, but that thought passes. Don and his friends, they're planning to become teachers, not game designers. Besides, this is 1971. It was pre-arcade boom, pre-space invaders. So the idea of royalties from a computer game, it sounds absurd. That's why Bill shrugs the idea off.

And in a blink, Oregon Trail Week at school is over. Yetis, this all happened in just one week. His next history lesson for next semester is the roaring 20s, and he's already got his Gatsby costume picked out. Now here's the wildest part. The Minneapolis public school computer doesn't have enough memory to archive last semester's programs. There's no cloud computing at this point.

And in a blink, Oregon Trail Week at school is over. Yetis, this all happened in just one week. His next history lesson for next semester is the roaring 20s, and he's already got his Gatsby costume picked out. Now here's the wildest part. The Minneapolis public school computer doesn't have enough memory to archive last semester's programs. There's no cloud computing at this point.

And in a blink, Oregon Trail Week at school is over. Yetis, this all happened in just one week. His next history lesson for next semester is the roaring 20s, and he's already got his Gatsby costume picked out. Now here's the wildest part. The Minneapolis public school computer doesn't have enough memory to archive last semester's programs. There's no cloud computing at this point.

That's not a good sign. So Don, Bill, and Paul print out a few paper copies of their game's 800 lines of code, and then they delete the game from the server. So, JR, you're saying they created what feels like a masterpiece on this computer, and all that is left of it is a few sheets of paper? It's like they painted the Sistine Chapel, and all they have left of it is a photograph.

That's not a good sign. So Don, Bill, and Paul print out a few paper copies of their game's 800 lines of code, and then they delete the game from the server. So, JR, you're saying they created what feels like a masterpiece on this computer, and all that is left of it is a few sheets of paper? It's like they painted the Sistine Chapel, and all they have left of it is a photograph.

That's not a good sign. So Don, Bill, and Paul print out a few paper copies of their game's 800 lines of code, and then they delete the game from the server. So, JR, you're saying they created what feels like a masterpiece on this computer, and all that is left of it is a few sheets of paper? It's like they painted the Sistine Chapel, and all they have left of it is a photograph.

The Oregon Trail, it's gone cold. And it will stay cold for the next three years. It just lives on as a memory in those children's heads and on three sheets of paper until the Vietnam War, of all things, brings it back to life.

The Oregon Trail, it's gone cold. And it will stay cold for the next three years. It just lives on as a memory in those children's heads and on three sheets of paper until the Vietnam War, of all things, brings it back to life.