Why Most Developers Fail at Creating Products for Peers
Written by David, CEO at Byte.ai
If you are a Software developer, there might be a time you will get exited about making your own product. You have all the tools, you are convinced you will outsmart your boss and launch a genius idea to life in days. This stage is called uninformed optimism - and you need it to get exited and start learning. Once you learn, you`ll be informed and pessimistic - building a product is hard. That`s why only 10% of startups survive in the long run. In this article, we will brief you and prepare you for the challenges to come, so that you can move on to the “good stage” - informed optimism, and don`t dissolve in the 90% of great ideas.
You think you are your target audience. Think again.
When you dream up a new tech project, it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking, "This is a problem for me; it must be a problem for everyone else." That's where a lot of us developers go wrong. We start crafting solutions that, frankly, we'd love to use without stopping to consider if we're solving the right problems for others out there.
Here's the kicker: your fellow developers, the very people you think will love your product, often grapple with challenges you might not have even considered. The reality is, understanding what your peers actually need involves a lot more detective work than you'd expect. It's not just about building something cool; it's about building something they find indispensable. And sometimes, that means setting aside what you think is best and really listening to what they're telling you.
You actually need to Sell your product.
The wake-up call: creating your product is only half the battle. The real challenge? You've got to sell it. Yes, even in the world of tech, where we like to think our brilliant solutions should sell themselves, the hard truth is they don't. Getting your product into the hands of your peers isn't about how innovative or technically superior it is; it's about convincing them they need it.
And that means diving into the not-so-glamorous world of marketing and sales. Your job is to get out there, talk to people, understand their hesitations, and then, most crucially, show them how your solution makes their life easier. Are you ready to go outside of the developer box?
The danger of never leaving your comfort zone.
This brings us to the next point: the comfort zone. As you are stepping out from the comfort of product development into the vast ocean of gaining traction, you will need to put the product first. Never choose a channel of getting your product out there that you feel comfortable about - do what works.
Don`t like sales and conventions, but they bring you new paying clients - do it 10 times more. Also, don`t follow obvious path. If you think the best place to reach out to users is Google Ads, your competitors probably thought of it and payed more with better content. Do something uncomfortable, unconventional and new, and you will outrun your competitors.
Turn competitors into your secret weapon
The first thing you find out when starting a business - you have competitors. And actually, that`s good, it validates your idea. They have users? Even better. That means you thought of a real problem, and a real solution. The question is - can you solve it better, or, get to your users faster? If you aim for head-on-fire users, that need a solution fast, you will sell regardless of competitors. And validate your hypothesis. Competitors create a market and set a benchmark for entry.
So, take a close look at them - what do they do well? How do they position themselves and where do they connect with users? What do their users value about their product, and what are they getting frustrated with? You can learn a lot about what your product should be, and what it should avoid. Don`t be hesitant to copy their design framework and feature basis, to get a jump start into the race. Then, build upon it. If you are not competing with OpenAi, getting a marketshare is not about winning the lottery, but about through research.
Forget Oil, today's resource for success is attention
In the previous business generation, the solvency and profit of enterprises where material, based on oil and natural resources. The new era currency is attention. People follow influencers and are ready to buy anything from personas. This is why most brands get a face and a name, and transmitting value in a brand is utmost important.
Apart from having a good product, you can and haven to be unique at collecting the user`s (B2C) and clients (B2B) attention. Creating a convincing face and story for your product is crucial - a smooth sales mechanism and approach, proactivity in social media that will gain users trust that you actually want to help them, representation through trusted influencers, valuable storytelling through blog and media - choose your fighter, but start building skills now.
Cut the Comedy, It's Crunch Time
Are you ready to be learning on this topic for the next 10 years? At this pace? Inspiriting your product Frankenstein is not easy, so you need to think through the personal side:
- When will you quit your job? You should calculate the resources you have and need to quit your job, and accelerate this point to dedicate your time to the project.
- Why will this idea carry you through burnout, overtimes, pushing limits, disappointing sales calls, ghosted e-mails, painful fires?
- Are you ready for endure the above for the next 2, 5, 10 years?
Let's conclude
Going from 0 to 1 is not the same as scaling launched companies. There is no way to learn it, but trying your best and stumbling. Nurturing an idea from its beginning means getting your hands dirty. You are probably full of knowledge on the growth & development of structured (at least halfway), already launched ventures. The playbook for existing companies, even with a 1000$ monthly revenue is different. These companies are IN the market - you are outside. There is no blog, course or MBA to teach you how to do the starting point. It's not just about building; it's about learning, adapting, and evolving.