# Time to launch
> How long did the first version take, from starting to build to shipping?
Canonical: https://ponicorn.com/reports/time-to-launch
Published: 2026-09-05
## Findings
| Business model | Businesses | 25th | Median days | 75th |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| SaaS | 10 | 2 days | 4 days | 19 days |
## Sample
- Published startups: 81
- With a stated time from first build to launch: 11
- Solo-founded in that cohort: 6
- Segments withheld below the sample floor: 1
## Method
- "Launch" is whatever the cited source called it — an App Store submission, a first paying customer, a public MVP — and the note on each profile says which. The figures are comparable only to the extent founders mean the same thing by the word.
- Only a stated duration counts. A founded year and a launch year twelve months apart is not a 365-day build.
- A business that charges two ways is counted under both models, so the group sizes add up to more than the cohort.

Founders who say how long the first version took are usually saying it was quick. Read this as how fast a first version can ship, not as how long a business takes to build.
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Ponicorn recomputes this report from the published records on every request.