"If you start a company unaware that you need to make something someone will want, you have no business doing so."
Well, yes. That being said, as with many cliches, this one's a cliche for a reason. You'd be surprised how many entrepreneurs set out to make a cool product first, and a solution second. It's surprisingly easy to build a product -- even a beautiful, elegant, simple one -- that just doesn't solve or do anything useful for anyone in particular. It's very easy to mistake elegance, qua elegance, for utility. Elegance doesn't necessarily imply utility, but many fall into that trap.
The mantra "Make something people want" is better expressed as "Make something useful." Or, perhaps, "Make something that solves a need." Don't build a hammer and then go looking for nails.
The rest of your post ("Furthermore..." onward), I completely agree with.
> You'd be surprised how many entrepreneurs set out to make a cool product first, and a solution second. It's surprisingly easy to build a product -- even a beautiful, elegant, simple one -- that just doesn't solve or do anything useful for anyone in particular.
True, but which of the following do you think was the problem?
1. The entrepreneurs did not know that they should make a product people want.
2. The entrepreneurs did not know that no one would want their product.
"What? You mean that solutions are more wanted than cool products?"
No, that's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that "cool" is relative to the customer's needs. There is no such thing as an objectively cool or objectively interesting product. It is the user who determines whether something is cool/wanted, and the coolness/need is determined by the degree to which the product solves something.
I'm not using the word "solution" in the sense of B2B jargon. I'm using it in the sense that you have a Need, and you have a Fulfillment/Resolution of that Need. The need could be trivial, or it could be major. It could be for business utility or for personal entertainment. It could be a need you didn't know you had, or a need you had but weren't totally cognizant of until the solution articulated (and solved) it. Or it could be a need that's been plain and aching for a long time.
Sorry, I am afraid the expression of agreement couched in sarcastic opposition didn't come across very well.
We are in agreement here.
The only possible disagreement is whether focusing on what people "want" is a useful metric. People may think things are cool. The better view in my sense is to focus on what people find useful.
Well, yes. That being said, as with many cliches, this one's a cliche for a reason. You'd be surprised how many entrepreneurs set out to make a cool product first, and a solution second. It's surprisingly easy to build a product -- even a beautiful, elegant, simple one -- that just doesn't solve or do anything useful for anyone in particular. It's very easy to mistake elegance, qua elegance, for utility. Elegance doesn't necessarily imply utility, but many fall into that trap.
The mantra "Make something people want" is better expressed as "Make something useful." Or, perhaps, "Make something that solves a need." Don't build a hammer and then go looking for nails.
The rest of your post ("Furthermore..." onward), I completely agree with.