I would limit yourself to 3-4 months for a beta at the outside. I don't know about you, but I have trouble working on something for longer than that without getting some real feedback. That doesn't mean you have to do something small. The first version of Google could have been done in 3-4 months.
I think it's better to decide what you think will be most successful, and then figure out how to release a version of that in a few months. I don't think it's wise to shy away from hard problems. Better to figure out how to solve them intelligently, so they're not so painful.
I think it's better to decide what you think will be most successful, and then figure out how to release a version of that in a few months. I don't think it's wise to shy away from hard problems. Better to figure out how to solve them intelligently, so they're not so painful.