The wonky horse framework

One of the concepts we like to use at Feather is the "Wonky Horse."

You’ve probably seen this meme of a horse that is very well drawn and detailed on one side and very simplistically drawn on the other side.

Or these videos where an artist need to draw the same picture with different time constraint.

The key idea is this: when developing a product, you don't start by creating the perfect version; you start with the simplest version that gets the job done.

It means, the left side of the horse, the poorly drawn one, is where we how we want our first version to look like.

It means that you should draw a spider man in 10 seconds rather than 10 minutes. It’s 60 times faster and still does looks like a spider man! And when you haven’t launched, you don’t know what you and your users want - you’ll need a few iterations to get it right, so you better spend the least amount of time on your v1. The early version of your product may look rough or incomplete, but it’s enough to convey the essence of the idea to users. The focus is on validating the concept as quickly as possible, rather than striving for perfection upfront.

And as your product mature, you will start to validate your concept and iterate toward a great solution. You can visualize this as making your way toward the elegantly drawn part of the job,

Why the wonky horse framework matters

In product development, it's easy to fall into the trap of building complex, polished features without knowing whether they meet user needs. This can lead to wasted time and resources. Instead, the Wonky Horse approach encourages:

1. Starting simple: Begin with a basic version of the product that communicates the core value.
2. Embracing imperfection: Accept that the initial version will likely be scrappy and unscalable.
3. Rapid validation: Put the product in users’ hands as quickly as possible to gather feedback (60x faster!)
4. Iterative improvement: Use real-world feedback to refine and scale the product over time.

How It Works in Practice

1. Launch fast: Build a simple, scrappy version of your product or feature. It doesn’t need to be perfect—just good enough for users to understand and use.
2. Gather feedback: Observe how users interact with the product. Pay attention to what's working, what's confusing, and what users need.
3. Learn and adjust: Use the feedback to address critical issues. For example:
   • Users in different regions might interact with your product differently due to cultural or linguistic factors.
   • Certain assumptions about your target audience might be incorrect, such as requiring personal information that users can't or don't want to provide.
4. Refine over time: Once you've validated the product and identified what works, you can scale it up and polish it. This is where the "wonky horse" transforms into the polished, beautiful horse.

The Key Takeaway

The Wonky Horse framework is about prioritizing speed and learning over perfection. By launching quickly and embracing scrappy, imperfect solutions, you can gather invaluable insights early in the development process. This allows you to refine your product iteratively and build something truly impactful.

Remember: Start with the quickest version and improve as you go.