Steve Blank has written pretty extensively on this - the point of a startup is to search for a repeatable and scalable business model. The business model and pr

Steve Blank has written pretty extensively on this - the point of a startup is to search for a repeatable and scalable business model. The business model and product are fluid and change in response to feedback from potential customers. He calls it the "Customer Development" model. By "Don't build your company, until you've verified your Business Model", he means don't build out an entire company around a business model that hasn't been through the customer development process.