"It would have been different if we had been debating which plan among several to implement or how to shore up specific weaknesses, but we had nothing."
I don't really understand "having nothing" -- you're either creating value or you're not. You guys spotted a real problem, but your v1 solution was meh. There were certainly multiple ways out (and not just tack on gamification), and even if some were long-shots, the uniqueness of a startup is to place those bets.
Chromium is great. Why exactly should they innovate their first? A v1 should take whats available and not seek to reinvent the wheel.