Sometimes customers don't know what they want. Many times they do. It's rather arrogant to believe otherwise. Most of us aren't creating cars. Some of us th

Sometimes customers don't know what they want. Many times they do. It's rather arrogant to believe otherwise. Most of us aren't creating cars. Some of us think we are and we spit out Segways (should've heard all the dummies that wanted faster legs!). But most tech startups are providing incremental, not disruptive, improvements. And flat out ignoring feedback from people that are going to buy your product and doing so because "they don't know what they really want" is an odd approach to me. What really kills me about all this is your customer almost certainly understand the competitive landscape, problem space, and industry better than you do. Maybe every other entry failed because they tried to read between the lines rather than delivering what people want. That's not to say your product should be built as an amalgamation of every feature request thrown your way. Balance is key. But thinking you know better than your customer might not be a great strategy.