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LEXICON: FIRST BLOOD

FIRST BLOOD.

The first cut that proves you're alive. Ship or die.

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First Blood is the initial market contact that proves your idea can survive reality. It's not about perfection—it's about drawing blood. The first paying customer. The first real rejection. The first truth that can't be theorized away.

TL;DR

  • First Blood = first real market contact
  • Ugly that sells beats pretty that doesn't
  • Proves you're building for reality, not ego
  • Creates momentum that planning never can

WHY FIRST BLOOD MATTERS

REALITY CONTACT

Before first blood, everything is theory. After first blood, you have data. Not projections. Not assumptions. Actual market response to actual offering.

Truth: The market doesn't care about your deck

MOMENTUM CREATION

First blood breaks the perfection paralysis. Once you ship ugly and survive, shipping becomes easier. Each iteration builds on real feedback, not imagined fears.

Reality: Movement creates movement

EGO DEATH

First blood kills the fantasy version of your product. What remains is what actually works. This death is necessary for real growth.

Requirement: Your ego must bleed first

TYPES OF FIRST BLOOD

VALID FIRST BLOOD

  • • First paying customer
  • • First public rejection
  • • First feature request from user
  • • First competitor response
  • • First refund request

FALSE FIRST BLOOD

  • • Friends saying "cool idea"
  • • Investor interest (not money)
  • • Internal testing results
  • • Survey responses
  • • Advisor feedback

THE FIRST BLOOD FORMULA

Minimum Viable Pain × Maximum Market Contact = First Blood

DRAWING FIRST BLOOD

RULE 1

Ship at 30% Ready

If you're not embarrassed, you waited too long.

RULE 2

Charge Money Immediately

Free users lie. Paying customers tell truth.

RULE 3

Seek Rejection, Not Validation

One honest "no" beats ten polite "maybes".

RULE 4

Measure Blood, Not Likes

Revenue, refunds, and rage. Everything else is vanity.

READY TO BLEED?

Stop polishing. Start shipping. Draw first blood or die in theory.