4 ms·

The secret sauce is "Make something people want" (YC's motto)

by 1970-01-01 4y ago

paxys 4y ago
A lot of times people don't know they want something until it is in front of them.
- jackblemming 4y ago
  And even more times people thought they were being Henry Ford or Steve Jobs when they were actually making something nobody wanted.
- TeMPOraL 4y ago
  The trick: they didn't actually need or want it until you put it in front of them, engineered to induce the want.
  - nottorp 4y ago
    Here's an anecdote. I used Linux as my main desktop OS for like 15 years. One day someone paid me to write some Mac software for them. I did the project on a $150 ancient mac from a second hand store, and partially on Linux. When the project ended I bought a new macbook when i got paid because i thought "ok, there's money in doing mac stuff, i better have current hardware". Linux was still my main desktop OS. 2 years later I switched my desktop to Mac OS too because after using it, it was simply far less annoying than either alternative. So when you see people talking about the reality distortion field and why pay extra for Macs... take it with a grain of salt. It's likely they just looked at prices and guessed it's not worth it, maybe thought about induced want. So was I before I got paid to use one :)
    - Idiot_in_Vain 4y ago
      The true is Windows 10/11, Linux and MacOs are all terrible desktop operating systems. Windows 2000 for example was better than any current OS. It comes down to what types of bugs and issues you're more inclined to tolerate.
waboremo 4y ago
No, instead "make people want something" Steve Jobs was a master of this. The first car itself was heavily marketed before release. You have to make people believe that their life will be improved by this thing. Failure to do so, even when you genuinely believe it can improve lives, will leave you in the dust while someone else eventually comes along with a nicer story. Of course, if you don't even believe in your hypothetical rubbish product it's hard to make that storytelling believable. Even more so when you've become so deluded in your own thing that you can't tell what impact it does have.
ilamont 4y ago
Make something people want, and will pay for.
- garrickvanburen 4y ago
  I’ll take it a step further: Only make what people have committed to paying for.

The secret sauce is "Make something people want" (YC's motto)

paxys 4y ago

A lot of times people don't know they want something until it is in front of them.

jackblemming 4y ago
And even more times people thought they were being Henry Ford or Steve Jobs when they were actually making something nobody wanted.
TeMPOraL 4y ago
The trick: they didn't actually need or want it until you put it in front of them, engineered to induce the want.
- nottorp 4y ago
  Here's an anecdote. I used Linux as my main desktop OS for like 15 years. One day someone paid me to write some Mac software for them. I did the project on a $150 ancient mac from a second hand store, and partially on Linux. When the project ended I bought a new macbook when i got paid because i thought "ok, there's money in doing mac stuff, i better have current hardware". Linux was still my main desktop OS. 2 years later I switched my desktop to Mac OS too because after using it, it was simply far less annoying than either alternative. So when you see people talking about the reality distortion field and why pay extra for Macs... take it with a grain of salt. It's likely they just looked at prices and guessed it's not worth it, maybe thought about induced want. So was I before I got paid to use one :)
  - Idiot_in_Vain 4y ago
    The true is Windows 10/11, Linux and MacOs are all terrible desktop operating systems. Windows 2000 for example was better than any current OS. It comes down to what types of bugs and issues you're more inclined to tolerate.

waboremo 4y ago

No, instead "make people want something" Steve Jobs was a master of this. The first car itself was heavily marketed before release. You have to make people believe that their life will be improved by this thing. Failure to do so, even when you genuinely believe it can improve lives, will leave you in the dust while someone else eventually comes along with a nicer story. Of course, if you don't even believe in your hypothetical rubbish product it's hard to make that storytelling believable. Even more so when you've become so deluded in your own thing that you can't tell what impact it does have.

ilamont 4y ago

Make something people want, and will pay for.

garrickvanburen 4y ago
I’ll take it a step further: Only make what people have committed to paying for.