Letter from a CPO: How to Build an Innovative Product That Picks the Brain of Every User
Letter from a CPO: How To Build An Innovative Product That Picks the Brain of Every User
This is my letter to you on building a very innovative product, read carefully!
Building an innovative product is actually simpler than you think, but what are the examples of innovative products - let's take Apple for example!
Apple as you may know is a Technology giant company that sells consumer electronics — they are the maker of the popular iPhone brand. Apple launched the first-ever iPhone in 2008,
Even then, there were popular phones like — BlackBerry, Sony, Samsung, IBM, Nokia, etc but none were as innovative as Apple's iPhone.
After the release of the iPhone, shockwaves hit the world of tech and users began to fall in love with the super smartphone model — at the time it was the iPhone 1G, phone companies like BlackBerry (BB), Motorola, Sony, IBM (at the time), went into panic mode
They lost customers, and many fell from grace to grass — a terrible example is BlackBerry - the widest used phone at the time, every corporate and top business executive used BB, at that time people respected you if you were using a BlackBerry.
iPhone came, BB, Sony, Nokia, IBM, etc, fell!
But, did you know Steve Jobs had something to say even before Apple launched iPhone?
Steve Jobs called his company's first iPhone "a revolutionary and magical product that is literally five years ahead of any other mobile phone."
Wow?! Steve Jobs knew what the market was at the time and in comparison to the product he was building the world-renowned genius knew the only competition against the iPhone was the iPhone.
Fast forward to today, Apple is one of the most valuable companies second to Microsoft (as of this time), Steve Jobs's iPhones account for over 60% of sales in revenue generated.
Another case of innovativity was - Facebook!
Although a lot of people hate Facebook nowadays we cannot deny the fact that Mark Zuckerberg and his teammates built a very innovative product!
He built something special and look at FB today.
But what about you?
Enough of Facebook, enough of Apple, what about you?
You can also build something innovative and attain heights but how?
"The road to innovation has a simple way, but a very hard to pivot one" - Kenny.
Here is how to be innovative:
#1 - Understand that innovation has a mother!
Something births something, the same way someone births someone!
But what or who is the mother of innovation? "Problem/Problems" is the mother of "innovation"
Well practically everyone goes around saying "You have to solve a problem" but for me, that's so generic!
The same way Failure is the mother of Success is the same way Problem is the mother of Innovation!
But what is innovation — in my own words,
"Innovation is creating something extremely pleasing to the heart and soul of a person that serves them in a way they would have never thought." — Kenny.
Look, if you can just understand my definition of innovation you are pretty much on your way to creating something innovative.
Now, back to the mother of Innovation which is Problem...
But what do I mean by Problem is the mother of Innovation?
Ok, here is the meaning — Without having a problem or problems, you cannot build something innovative!
There is no re-inventing the wheel, that's the pattern behind any innovative product but here is the catch, you don't have to directly have a problem to build a very innovative product,
You can simply learn from the problems others are facing and use that to create your own innovation!
For example, Mark Zuckerberg (founder of Facebook) said he was simply solving a problem around him!
"That was a basic need, where I looked around at the internet and there were services for a lot of things that you wanted,"
"You could find music; you could find news; you could find information, but you couldn't find and connect with the people that you cared about, which as people is actually the most important thing.
"So that seemed like a pretty big hole that needed to get filled."
Zuckerberg saw a problem — he learned from the problems he saw around him and decided to build Facebook.
You don't have to directly have a problem to build something innovative, you can learn from other people's problems or lingering problems like Zuckerberg did.
He did fill that big hole! Here is another secret to finding problems,
In this context of building an innovative product and as you know Problem is the mother of Success, "certain problems appear in disguise" you need a very observing eye to spot them!
Understand what I wrote above and you are done!
Sometimes there are what I call — Lingering problems, people face them and wish there was a solution but at the same time, they aren't bothered by them.
There are some problems around you, your workspace, your Industry, and your life that are lingering and to spot them you need to be extremely observant!
Zuckerberg observed a lingering problem — at the time, there was practically everything a human could ever think of, music, information, and news, but Zuckerberg observed an extremely hideous (lingering) problem and here we are today.
Jobs observed a lingering problem. there were smartphones, people could call and text themselves, what else does anyone need, I mean?
But he found a lingering problem (maybe he was probably using BlackBerry when the iPhone was in development), he found a camouflaged problem, and look at Apple today.
And you can too?! Yes, you can do this! Another example of solving a lingering problem is Slack — you probably know Slack, that giant team communication and collaboration tool.
Before Slack, teams and companies relied on emails, people received query letters through emails, and companies were so down on sending emails.
But then, Slack happened — companies ditched emails and focused their attention on a very pleasing tool that touches their heart and serves them in a way they would have never thought about!
And today — Slack has a valuation of $27 billion. Facebook is not a SaaS app, and Apple is not a SaaS company but Slack is.
Slack is a SaaS company and they are worth a staggering $27 billion.
Now that you know that problem is the mother of Innovation, how can you channel that problem that you have found or will still find to create something innovative?!
First, you must understand my own definition of innovation,
I reiterate,
"Innovation is creating something extremely pleasing to the heart and soul of a person that serves them in a way they would have never thought." — Kenny.
#2 - Make the solution to the problem so pleasing
Did you know Apple was not the first company to make touchable screens? IBM (International Business Machine) released the IBM Simon Personal Communicator in 1994 which was the first ever touch screen phone.
Oh, you may think in your mind — "Wow IBM launched an innovative product, no one has ever seen a touchscreen phone before."
Nope! You are wrong if you think like that,
Or maybe you think like this "The product was innovative why wasn't it successful given that it was the first touchscreen phone."
Again you are wrong!
Get this straight — "Something is new does not mean it is innovative" - Kenny. However, in the case of IBM, introducing a touchscreen was indeed innovative.
New and Innovative are two different words!
Do not mix these two things
"Building a product people have never seen before, is different from building a innovative product."
Many people mix these two, who cares about your "never seen before product"?
You may build something people have never seen before and when you introduce it to them they say things like — "ok, great product." And it ends there!
No conversion, no usage, no interest — and you are left thinking "Why is no one paying attention to my product."
Look, no one cares about that product you are building that has never been seen before, people only care about that pleasing solution you are bringing to them that would solve their problems in a way they would have never thought of!
Did you get it?
IBM Simon Personal Communicator lasted only 6 months and sold only 50,000 units in the market, even though it was the first commercially available touchscreen,
You would have thought IBM brought touchscreen innovation and the product was bound to succeed,
Well, in the irony, the product failed and fell flat.
But why?
Truthfully speaking, IBM created something innovative by introducing a touchscreen but they didn't please the world with their product!
Really at this point, you should know this — if you can't deliver your innovation to people in a pleasing way, you will fail and fall, no matter how innovative your product is.
That's it.
First, the Personal Communicator by IBM was priced at a heavy $1100, second, there was no app store, users couldn't use email, the functionality of the phone was extremely buggy, the phone battery capacity lasted only 1 hour, etc.
And what ended it — IBM discontinued the brand just a little after 6 months!
Here is another tip you should etch into your memory and mind forever if you want to build an innovative product, and that is —
"Innovation has depth and must be indepth to be called innovative."
Look, you can build an innovative product that is not completely innovative!
IBM did that and failed in the end, BlackBerry did the same, as Nokia, Sony, etc.
If your innovation is not completely innovative, you get a few wows and comments like — "I like it, but your product is not solving my problem in this area and that area, the way I thought it would."
In other words, Build a complete solution, don't build a half-baked solution, and expect success in the long run.
You may achieve short-term success with what I call "Half-baked innovativity" but you will fail and fall in the long run, check BlackBerry for example, check different then-popular products,
They couldn't keep up with the "Dynamism of innovation and fell off at the end" - Kenny.
Make your solution pleasing — look at the iPhone,
Launched with touchscreens, beautiful UI, powerful multi-touch capabilities, powerful email capabilities, iPod player, first useful mobile web browser, visual voicemail, app store launched (a year later)
Regarding the app store, a lot of people use pre-installed apps and don't have access to downloading apps, this was a major problem for people but as I have said earlier, it is a lingering and hideous problem that only takes deep observation to notice.
As you can see, everything about the iPhone was innovative — from touch capabilities to beautiful UI, to introducing a useful web browser, Everything!!!
"Don't sell half-baked innovation, half-baked innovation brings half-baked success." - Kenny.
So, do you now understand what makes up innovation?
#3 - Gotten the formula — It's time to build
Now that I have given you the formula to create your own innovation, it's time to go get your innovative SaaS that shakes the world!
I as a Chief Product Officer of our Startup currently in the development stage can tell you when we launch, our startup is going to shake the SaaS world.
Why? Great, it's because our startup is going to be solving problems in an extremely pleasing way that will serve people in a way they would have never thought of before!
(I am not allowed to delve deeper into what our SaaS is all about).
I am 100% sure the startup is going to be a huge success. Just like Steve Jobs knew he was building a product 5 years ahead of every other product in his category,
It's the same way I know our startup is going to solve a lingering problem in the SaaS world (specific to our target audience).
Of course with the right strategies only can we make it successful, it's not just about innovation, it's also about marketing your innovation the right way.
(You can be the first to hear when we launch - if you want!)
Can you boast the same way? Yes, you can, because now you have learned the basics of what building an innovation means.
