I've spent years building products, and I think I've finally figured out the secret to success.
- Stop wasting time trying to understand problems. Start with the solution. You can always figure out what problem it solves later.
- Better yet, start with the technology. AI is hot right now. Build something with AI. Doesn't matter what.
- Prioritize the loudest customer. The one sending 17 emails a day clearly understands the market better than everyone else.
- Actually, don't talk to customers. They'll just confuse you with their problems, which, as we've established, aren't important.
- Always prioritize what's technologically possible over what's actually useful. If you can strap a computer to someone's face, you absolutely should. Figuring out why anyone would want one is a problem for the marketing team.
- If a competitor launches a feature, build it immediately. They probably did their research. No need to duplicate the effort.
- Measure success by how many features you ship. The more features, the better the product. That's just math.
- When in doubt, add more AI. A bad product with AI is worth at least 10 times as much as a bad product without AI.
- Never delete a feature. Someone, somewhere, might use it someday. Every feature is a monument to the hard work that went into building it.
- If your product is struggling, redesign the logo. Sometimes the difference between failure and success is a slightly different shade of blue.
- Make everything a subscription. If someone buys a toaster, they should have to pay $9.99 a month to keep their bread warm.
...and if all of this sounds completely reasonable to you, you desperately need to read my book, The Problem-First Method. Actually, you're probably the exact reason I wrote it. Please buy a copy.