There is something that eventually becomes obvious if you spend enough time making things, and that thing is that having a point of view about something has an outsized importance on whether that thing that is being made will do well.
Another way I think about that is by switching products for people. You have a friend who absolutely loves football; it’s all they talk about and care about, so when you hang out with them, you have a pretty good idea of what your time with them will be like.
And at the other end of the scale, sometimes you meet people who don’t really seem to care about much. They don’t dress in any particular way or care about any particular issues. You don’t even know what they do for work. And so, it’s much harder to know how hanging out with them will feel.
Both of these people have made decisions. Importantly, it’s not that one has made a decision to be interested in football and the other has made no decisions at all. The second person has made a decision, and that decision is not to reveal their opinions and points of view to you.
Something like this is true for products. It’s true of hotels, fashion, music—everything I can think of.
A jacket is a jacket, and the function of a jacket doesn’t change much, but who the jacket is for, who is going to buy it, and at what price changes depending on whether Alexander McQueen gets his hands on it or Yvon Chouinard.
Nowadays, when I look at new products, I pay less attention to the underlying technology, features, and functionality, and pay far more attention to the founders’ beliefs, points of view, and opinions.
I’m always interested in questions like: Who is this for? Who is it not for? What will this never do? What does it have to do?
It feels like trying to find the edges of a problem space. Or like a dolphin with sonar, sending out signals and trying to see where they bounce back at you.
(Insert the classic quote: if you make something for everyone, you’ve made nothing for nobody.)
I see this come up all the time, and it’s weird because after all these years working with people building products, I don’t actually think this is something that comes naturally to many people. Maybe it can be taught, but some people just seem to feel it instinctively.
The iPod vs. all other MP3 players is always a good example:
Radio, mic, recording, multiple colors & storage? No.
One thousand songs, white? Yes.
This came up for me again this week while I’ve been looking at two products. Both very similar.
StackList and Breezi are both list-building and sharing apps.
From what I can tell about both, they have similar features and, although expressed differently, similar product benefits.
Breezi has made a lot of opinionated decisions. The branding, founder communications, mobile-first approach, vibes—all scream “We know who we are making this for!” Maybe that audience won’t want what Breezi is making, but I can tell already they will know quickly.
On the other hand, StackList has a more generic brand, is built for desktop and mobile, and is full of all kinds of features and functionality. It’s harder for me to imagine who the initial users of this will be. It does so much, it would be helpful for so many people in so many different use cases. And so, it will take longer to understand if it will be useful and for whom.
For one of these, I can see and understand the edges. For the other, I can’t. Which is better?
I do think founders often think that by doing less initially, you are cheating yourself and your users out of early value. But I think that is a false economy.
By doing less in the early days, having strong opinions (loosely held), and by staying focused, you become the kind of person and product that people will be able to evaluate and decide if they want to give a go.
What decisions can you make that will help me, a new user or customer, decide if I want to begin a relationship with you? How well do I think you know me? Do I trust you to keep making and shipping things that I need, or do I have to keep telling you what I need every step of the way?
Is this dating or product design?
What’s the difference?