Building a great product should almost never be the goal, people don't buy a product because it is great, people don't use a product because it is great.
People buy a product because they are forced to buy it and people use a product because they love it.
This is the biggest mistake people make in product management, is to forget the customer
> it follows that most startups fail because they don’t ship a great product
this is so wrong
edit : funny that the guy behind the article created only one company (rethinkdb) which failed because they didn't find a business model
> People buy a product because they are forced to buy it
That's the best situation to be in, but people certainly often buy stuff just because they think it will benefit them in some way.
It's worthwhile to think about the sheer marketability of a product beyond its strict usefulness. Some things are easier to sell regardless of the actual functionality.
to put in different words, we all start using a product because we need it, and we are willing to put up with not great design and lack of features.
Usually is that product that does one thing that you need, later on you might fall in love with it.
I agree is not the other way around where you try to make something people will fall in love, that's why I think "scratch you own itch" is such a great advice.
People buy a product because they are forced to buy it and people use a product because they love it.
This is the biggest mistake people make in product management, is to forget the customer
> it follows that most startups fail because they don’t ship a great product
this is so wrong
edit : funny that the guy behind the article created only one company (rethinkdb) which failed because they didn't find a business model