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Ev Williams: Medium Started With Knowing 30%. The Other 70% Came From Building.

By Ev Williams · Startup Growth · 1 min read

Williams did not have the full vision for Medium when he started. He knew 30%. Building revealed the rest.

Key Points

You do not need the full picture to start. 30% clarity is enough.
The act of building reveals the remaining 70%
Waiting for perfect clarity means waiting forever

Having known you had done Blogger, how much of what Medium is did you already know? About 30%.

30% Is Enough

When Ev Williams started Medium, he did not have a complete vision.

He knew about 30% of what it would become. The writing platform part.

The social layer, the curation, the publishing tools — all of that emerged from building.

Building Reveals the Path

You cannot think your way to the other 70%. You have to build your way there.

Each feature you ship reveals the next one. Each user interaction teaches you something.

The product tells you what it wants to be. But only if you start building.

About 30%. The rest came from building.

Do Not Wait

Waiting for 100% clarity means waiting forever.

Williams started Blogger with even less than 30%. He started Medium knowing more.

The pattern is always the same: start with what you know. Build. Learn. Repeat.