One of my favorite stories about starting small is Producthunt.com. Now a staple in tech culture, Product Hunt started with the idea that people would be interested in hearing about the latest product releases. Ryan Hoover started an email list where he would share new products and he saw the subscribers grow quickly. It generated buzz and filled a need for a certain group of people.
From that initial traction, PH was able to find a developer willing to help build a website. From there they built an app, expanded into other categories, built out features to help founders and got acquired by Angel List.
My favorite part about this story is how small it started. A free email list was all it took. It’s a perfect way to test the waters. If an email list doesn’t work, there probably isn’t enough appetite to have a web platform.
Before you insist on needing some fancy technology and top tier design, think about the essence of your product. In this case the essence was sharing the latest product releases. Nothing about that statement necessitates a website or an app. So if you could start anywhere you might as well pick something as cheap and fast as possible.