Ask HN: Does This Make Sense?

2 points by piratesAndSons 233 days ago | 2 comments

One of the most popular pieces of advice in tech is, before you build a product and release it to the public, talk to people.

What do they mean exactly?

I think this advice is one of those things people repeat because at the surface level it makes sense. You have a solution for a problem, so find those who have the problem. But when you think about it, it does not make any sense. It is more like it sounds like "I got a small loan of one million dollars from my father." Technically correct, but what is left out is actually what defeats any merit the statement might ever have.

In my life, I have never said "I wish there was a place I could go, or someone I could talk to so that I am sold to." The adblock industry is a testament to my experience. People hate ads so much that advertisers were forced to create programming useful enough that ads would merely be a side effect.

So what exactly do people mean by "talk to people"? At bare minimum, the statement must be qualified first. Talk to your network. If you do not have one, do something else.

CqtGLRGcukpy 233 days ago |

I believe when someone says "talk to people" they mean ask them what they currently love and hate about a competitor (to understand what makes yours different and how to attract people), and to gather some users / customers to understand what can be made better (as nothing is perfect at the beginning).

verdverm 232 days ago |

When you come up with some solution, you don't know it's an actual solution, it is filled with your assumptions.

The point of talking to users is to (in)validate as many of your assumptions as possible. It involves no selling or promotion or even demos when done well.