
Stardoll: a successful service for 10-17 yr old girls; different from our typical target audience - zhyder
http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/05/08/stardollcom-from-little-things-big-things-grow/
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zhyder
I posted this as a counter-example to the "design products that you need
yourself" mantra. While designing a product you use yourself is certainly
easier (you know how it will be used) and more satisfying (you get to enjoy
using it; your friends use it), it can result a large chunk of the potential
market being untapped. One thing I liked about YC startup socialmoth: most of
its users are female. Most web users are still male 20-40 somethings = same as
the average developer.

~~~
Tichy
"Inspired by a childhood passion for paper dolls, Scandinavian born Liisa
started drawing dolls and accompanying wardrobes, uploading them to Geocities.
The personal page grew, evolving to Paperdoll Heaven in 2004."

Sounds as if the original founder WAS designing a product she needed herself.
Personally I don't see how I could ever have turned a virtual doll-clothing
venture into a success.

~~~
zhyder
Agreed it would be much harder for you or me to develop this service, than it
was for the founder who was inspired by her "childhood passion". But even
Liisa is not a 10-17 yr old now.

The point really was about untapped opportunities. How often do we think about
the needs of people different from us?

