If you like wine, the startup guide by the Vivino founder that you have probably used at least once
Date
Jan 9, 2026
Classification
- Startups
LeanX / leanX, CEO
We help entrepreneurs execute their plans to create products that the world needs.
The secret behind how an app rejected by Apple became the world's number one
#Vivino #PMF #MVP #StartupGuide #StartupCreation
🫑 3-Line Summary
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The founder of Vivino, a wine app used by 70 million people worldwide, has revealed a startup survival formula established through 30 years of experience.
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Emphasizing that 'execution' is more important than the idea itself, we propose a method to diagnose business feasibility in just 5 minutes by multiplying five factors, including product capability and marketability.
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It emphasizes that one must abandon perfectionism and begin market validation with an MVP that is embarrassing to launch, and that early users should be gathered through proactive sales rather than advertising.
🥦 Insight
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Idea valuation is multiplication, not addition.
Founder Heini advises rating five factors (a product that is 10 times better, customer acquisition potential, market growth potential, defense mechanisms, and implementation capability) from 0 to 3 points and "multiplying" them together. This is because if even one element scores 0, the total score becomes 0. It illustrates the harsh reality that no matter how large the market is, the probability of failure is high if there is no ability to create the product, or if the product is good but there is no marketing method.
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The Power of the 'Embarrassing' MVP That Even Apple Rejected
It is said that Vivino's first version was rejected by the Apple App Store review process because it lacked features. However, Heini remarked, "That was precisely when we realized we had created the right MVP." An MVP is not about flashy features, but merely a tool to validate core values. If you are not ashamed of launching it, it might already be too late.
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'People you know' come before 'people you don't know'.
Many founders dream of 'glamorous strategies' like PR or influencer marketing from the very beginning. However, according to data, the number one contributors to early growth were personal networks and direct sales (such as cold mail). Whether it is B2B or B2C, do not forget that 100 early users brought in by the founder's own legwork are far more valuable than massive advertising budgets.
🥄 A spoonful of execution
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If you have an idea or business currently in the works, rate the '5 elements' mentioned above on a scale of 0 to 3 and multiply them. How many points do you get out of a maximum of 243? If your score is less than 20, you may need to take some time to calmly reconsider.
—— View Original ——
Ideas are almost worthless.
Execution is everything.
But you don't want to execute a terrible idea perfectly, do you?
✍🏻 David of LeanX
👋 Hello, this is David!
Introduction.
Heini Zachariassen.
Vivino founder.
The world's largest wine app, used by over 70 million people worldwide. Raised over $200 million in investment.
I am currently developing a new app called Voda.
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