Why your first launch won’t change everything

When Ivan Zhao launched Notion for the first time, almost no one cared.

The second time? Same thing.

By the fourth launch, Notion had millions of users, VCs chasing them, and a cult-like following.

Most people see Notion today and assume it was an overnight success. It wasn’t. It was the result of relentless iteration, launching, listening, and launching again.

I used to think launches were these big, life-changing moments. You spend months perfecting your product, polishing your messaging, getting the website just right… and then you hit publish, expecting magic to happen. That’s not how it works.

Markets move too fast. Audiences change. People are distracted.

Your launch isn’t the finish line, it’s just the starting point. Of course, there are two barriers to entry.

One is to launch, the second one is to get in front of the audience. That’s why more often than not, you hear about “first-time founders focus on product, second-time founders focus on distribution”. I found out that no matter how good you are at the game, you will have to launch and relaunch and launch again.

When we launched VAUNT Spotlight, I thought the product was clear enough:
Upload a floor plan → instantly turn it into an interactive showcase → share it with buyers.

Simple, right?

Except… people didn’t get it at first. Some thought it was just another CRM. Others thought it was a 3D rendering tool. Some didn’t understand why it mattered at all.

That feedback shaped everything, from how we talk about Spotlight to how we build features.

We didn’t go back and rebuild the entire product from scratch.
We didn’t “relaunch” in the big, dramatic sense.
We just kept showing up, tweaking, improving, and putting it in front of people again.

Every time we did, we learned something new about our audience, what resonates, what confuses them, and what makes them sign up.

Here’s what I’ve learned watching Notion, and living through it myself:

Success doesn’t come from one perfect launch.
It comes from getting your product in front of real people as often as possible and using that feedback to get sharper, clearer, and faster.

It’s uncomfortable, especially if you’re a perfectionist.
But speed beats “perfect” every single time. So launch. Again and again and again.

Because I love launches, I wanted to share with you our latest launch VAUNT Spotlight.

Real estate developers were spending weeks, sometimes months, putting together PDFs, brochures, and static floor plans just to launch a campaign. By the time the marketing materials were ready, the market had already shifted.

Spotlight changes that:

Upload a floor plan → get an interactive showcase in minutes.

Update availability instantly.

Share it privately or publicly.

No tech team. No waiting. No PDFs.

If you want to see what “launch fast, iterate faster” looks like in action, you can try it here for a limited time.

Your first launch won’t make you.
Your ability to keep shipping, keep learning, and keep moving will.

That’s the game.

A few words about me

I’m Irina Constantin - entrepreneur, educator, and avid reader with over a decade of experience in the tech industry. I’m the CEO and co-founder of VAUNT, a bootstrapped, profitable pro-tech startup transforming how residential developers sell properties worldwide.

I started my entrepreneurial journey at 21, founding a software development agency focused on B2B and B2C products. Today, I’m building VAUNT into the operating system of the residential industry. In 2024, over 73 developers actively use our platform to manage more than $1 billion worth of properties.

I’m passionate about leveraging technology to solve real estate challenges and committed to building solutions that create lasting impact. My work has earned me recognition, including being named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2022.

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