Why Are All Devs Making The Same Mistake?
I am working with starting indie makers for more than one year now and most of them (including me) have a software background.
The biggest problem that devs face when turning entrepreneurs is that they try to solve every problem with MORE features. 🤦♀️
Since we suck and tbh do not like marketing we always assume that the reason why we are lacking users is because we are missing that ONE special feature.
Spoiler alert!! It is not! 🤣
The reason why you are lacking (paying) users is either because you are not able to get them on your website or because the problem you are solving simply has no demand...
It's sad but it is true... 😿
The cool thing is that there is a solution for this!! 😱😱
It's called the Audience First Approach and it's a method that most successful entrepreneurs use...
I have created a simple step-by-step guide that you can easily follow and avoid all the common mistakes that all devs do.
The guide is very hands-on, so don't worry... There is not a lot for you to read 😉
Good luck and welcome to the indie hacking world!
Nice this is great! Totally agree. it kinda makes sense that devs do this, given their analytic strengths. The idea of interacting with people in a more meaningful way isn't always thought of as appealing or fun. I feel like this is why IHers should set a minimum number of customers to talk to before they build.
exactly, that's one of the things I point out in my guide. Building is only step 4! There is a lot of research to be done before
Features give us an easy way out when we are stuck at a place. I guess that explains why we gravitate towards building over finding out what can be improved with marketing.
This was well written, Tiago !
I know, gives a sense of movement. Like we are doing something...
Totally agreed, Tiago.
Most people view the world through the lenses they have built from experience. I've worked with salespeople, social workers, engineers, etc.
When faced with a problem, salespeople typically suggest a sales/marketing solution. Social workers will focus on the people and the problems they're facing. Engineers will usually suggest a technical solution.
This is part of why teams are so valuable, but also why I'm a big believer in the value of being a generalist and experiencing other perspectives.
It's hard to break out of your comfort zone!
exactly
you do what you do best and in those cases it is coding/developing product.
As already mentioned in previous replies, best would be to get help or pair with someone who does have those "social" or marketing skills.
if you can't find a co-founder you can always join a community like the wbe space. The members will really push you to do more marketing and less coding.
Haha! Feeling guilty for being there and doing that 🤣
Pick one feature or piece of functionality that's the most important for your users or customers, and make sure that works before adding anything else.
Chances are, you already know what this is. If not, ask a few people who have used your product—they'll let you know.
This is an easy way to get immediate feedback and keep your focus on what matters most.
I have also written my experience on the same in my newsletter https://microletter.grabee.com/reduce-complexity-when-shipping-an-mvp/
haha, I did the same
I think because other people who don't really know what they're doing think it's all about features.
For example, I was on /r/saas today getting https://blether.chat roasted and the guy said that I should be selling the features more and what features do I have over others and that people are looking for features. While I tried to explain the core value Blether brings is to GDPR Compliance which others don't really do. And they replied do you think people focus on that when choosing a solution over the features. I do. But he clearly thinks features are important. So when everyone is thinking features are the most important thing then that's what you think you need to build.
When you start out, I think you normally think you know what you're doing. I thought I knew what I was doing. I thought it would be super easy. Super easy to get traffic, super easy to get sign ups, super easy to get SEO, etc. Turned out it's not. And people giving you advice at the start are often people who don't know what they're doing giving you advice which is features are important because that is why we choose the tv we spent hours choosing but we forget it's not why we choose the burger place we ate at, it's not why we use gmail, it's not why use many things.
ahah, the same for me. I kind of thought it was easy...
We overemphasize the importance of a product's features and polish, or we are worried that we will be harshly judged by the current state of our product. This is a fine fear to have because it means we have the drive to build on to the product. The issue is, like you mention above, when we have not validated our product, we could be wasting our time.
exactly, and that leads to frustration...