The Disposable Mindset: Are Prototypes Throwaways?

The short answer: Yes. The long answer: If you aren't prepared to delete your prototype, you aren't prototyping; you're building. The "40 Years of Founding" rule is that prototypes are for learning, not for shipping. Treating a prototype as the foundation for your production build is the fastest way to accumulate massive technical debt before you've even made your first dollar.