7 ms·
Stardoll: a successful service for 10-17 yr old girls; different from our typical target audience
- zhyder 19y agoI posted this as a counter-example to the "design products that you need yourself" mantra. While designing a product you use yourself is certainly easier (you know how it will be used) and more satisfying (you get to enjoy using it; your friends use it), it can result a large chunk of the potential market being untapped. One thing I liked about YC startup socialmoth: most of its users are female. Most web users are still male 20-40 somethings = same as the average developer.
- Tichy 19y ago"Inspired by a childhood passion for paper dolls, Scandinavian born Liisa started drawing dolls and accompanying wardrobes, uploading them to Geocities. The personal page grew, evolving to Paperdoll Heaven in 2004." Sounds as if the original founder WAS designing a product she needed herself. Personally I don't see how I could ever have turned a virtual doll-clothing venture into a success.
- zhyder 19y agoAgreed it would be much harder for you or me to develop this service, than it was for the founder who was inspired by her "childhood passion". But even Liisa is not a 10-17 yr old now. The point really was about untapped opportunities. How often do we think about the needs of people different from us?