Do you think that building something that you want is a good way to build things that people want?

Be careful with that sentiment. In my years working with consumer products I used to have a sticky note on my monitor at all times. It said: "You are not the market".

I needed to remind myself of that constantly. Especially with a few successes under your belt, it's easy to start thinking you "just know". Every new product that hit the market always had surprises: Who liked it, who didn't like it, what regions it sold in, what price points people expected, etc.

Testing and research are tremendously important. It's tempting to go on your gut... But the world is a big place. The smartest guys in the room, at the biggest companies in the world, are often wrong.

One of the reasons the MVP strategy is so good is that it's essentially a market test.

It's certainly easier to be right if you're selling to your exact demographic. But even then... it's amazing how faceted and diverse markets are.

I tend to build for myself , what I've found out is that I'm WAY too narrow of a market.

I really wish that for the last ten years I was focused more on what large markets wanted and less on what I wanted.

You might find Paul Graham's essay useful:
http://www.paulgraham.com/startupideas.html

Check out the book "Rework":https://books.google.nl/books?id=4N4_MUkcQy4C&pg=PA34&lpg=PA34&dq=the+easiest,+most+straightforward+way+to+create+a+great+product+or+service+is+to+make+something+you+want+to+use.+That+lets+you+design+what+you+know&source=bl&ots=82YCiOdQVM&sig=D9GeHG_TWnver-lRP-3AiOJB8iE&hl=nl&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj7uMqV9LrfAhXNDewKHZT-AF4Q6AEwAXoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=the easiest%2C most straightforward way to create a great product or service is to make something you want to use. That lets you design what you know&f=false, it is great and has a chapter titled "Scratch your own itch" that has helped me answering the same question.

You still need to find out if people are willing to pay. Having a problem vs willing to pay for a solution is different. I will suggest spending the time to find like-minded people online or offline.

It will save you a long time in later stage.

I think it depends on the pain point as well as the pricing.

If the pain point is high, people will pay in a heartbeat, if they feel it is still ok and the pricing is steep, they might use whatever current method they are using now :)

This comment was deleted 7 years ago