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I think almost all users would like easily swappable iPhone batteries. All users would have liked Fords with multiple colours rather than black. Many users woul

I think almost all users would like easily swappable iPhone batteries. All users would have liked Fords with multiple colours rather than black. Many users would have asked for text messages over 160 characters in 1990 or Facebook with their own themes on the page. Tradeoffs abound. Sometimes what users want will get you to a billion. Sometimes it’ll kill you. What’s the difference?

diego 5y ago
From the point of view of YC, they want to you think different even if it gets you killed. 100 startups think different, 99 get killed, the other one makes up for the rest. Most founders would prefer better than 1% odds of course.
phendrenad2 5y ago
All users would like easily swappable phone batteries, but all users would also like waterproof phones that push the boundaries of thin & light. All users would like Fords in more colors than black, but all users would also like the low cost that comes from a simplified assembly line and repair center and distribution channel that comes from only having one paint color. What users want will never kill you, but you have to consider all of the things that they want, not just the most obvious or apparent ones (or the ones with the loudest proponents).
- formerly_proven 5y ago
  "pushing the boundaries of thin & light", yet smartphones keep getting bigger and heavier. The latest & greatest from Apple features phones that literally weigh more than half a pound.
bidivia 5y ago
>All users would have liked Fords with multiple colours rather than black. They did, over time, choose car manufactures with different colors. But they also loved the price Ford could get for them making only one color available, at first. The problem was that getting multiple colors made your car extremely expensive and the car had to wait way longer in the queue for the paint to dry. But only at first, over time those problems got solved and people could get to choose colors for cheap. Today everybody wants closed 3d printers with swappable heads that could print multiple materials and support. They just don't want to pay USD3.000 for it when they can buy a printer for USD200. If you want to be successful you always have to listen to your users. But you also need common sense.

diego 5y ago

From the point of view of YC, they want to you think different even if it gets you killed. 100 startups think different, 99 get killed, the other one makes up for the rest. Most founders would prefer better than 1% odds of course.

phendrenad2 5y ago

All users would like easily swappable phone batteries, but all users would also like waterproof phones that push the boundaries of thin & light. All users would like Fords in more colors than black, but all users would also like the low cost that comes from a simplified assembly line and repair center and distribution channel that comes from only having one paint color. What users want will never kill you, but you have to consider all of the things that they want, not just the most obvious or apparent ones (or the ones with the loudest proponents).

formerly_proven 5y ago
"pushing the boundaries of thin & light", yet smartphones keep getting bigger and heavier. The latest & greatest from Apple features phones that literally weigh more than half a pound.

bidivia 5y ago

>All users would have liked Fords with multiple colours rather than black. They did, over time, choose car manufactures with different colors. But they also loved the price Ford could get for them making only one color available, at first. The problem was that getting multiple colors made your car extremely expensive and the car had to wait way longer in the queue for the paint to dry. But only at first, over time those problems got solved and people could get to choose colors for cheap. Today everybody wants closed 3d printers with swappable heads that could print multiple materials and support. They just don't want to pay USD3.000 for it when they can buy a printer for USD200. If you want to be successful you always have to listen to your users. But you also need common sense.