Prototypes Reveal Idea Magic

Situation

Elena Verna, Head of Growth at Lovable (a rapidly growing AI vibe coding platform), was struggling with the traditional product development cycle where ideas often sound great in theory but fail in execution
Previously, product ideas would progress through lengthy stages (ideation → design → engineering handoff → development) before their viability could be truly assessed
This created inefficiencies where weak ideas consumed significant resources before being abandoned, or where important nuances were lost in translation between teams
The company needed a faster way to validate ideas and communicate requirements in their high-velocity environment

Elena began using Lovable's own product to prototype her ideas immediately after conceiving them
Instead of writing lengthy specifications or waiting for design resources, she would directly build functional prototypes of her concepts
This approach allowed her to experience her own ideas in a tangible form very early in the process
For specific changes (like pricing page updates), she would take screenshots of existing pages, use Lovable to recreate them with desired modifications, and send the interactive prototype to engineering
The company made this approach systematic by ensuring all product specifications were accompanied by Lovable prototypes that stakeholders could interact with and modify

Elena discovered that some ideas that sounded "freaking cool" on paper lost their magic when prototyped, allowing her to abandon them before investing significant resources
Other concepts revealed additional potential when built, helping her expand promising directions
The approach created a much better communication vehicle with engineers, as she could precisely show what was important rather than trying to describe it
The company achieved significantly faster ideation cycles, with ideas being validated or rejected much earlier
Engineers received clearer requirements with interactive examples rather than abstract descriptions
The entire product development lifecycle was compressed, supporting Lovable's rapid growth and shipping velocity

Experience beats imagination: No matter how compelling an idea sounds in your head, experiencing it in a tangible form reveals its true potential
Kill weak ideas early: Use rapid prototyping to identify and abandon concepts that don't deliver the expected value before investing significant resources
Prototype as communication: Interactive prototypes create clearer understanding between teams than written specifications alone
Compress feedback loops: The faster you can experience your own idea, the faster you can improve it
Self-service empowers growth: When growth and product teams can build their own prototypes, they reduce dependencies and accelerate the entire development process
Eat your own dog food: Companies building creation tools should use their own products extensively, creating a virtuous cycle of improvement