How do you choose features for your startup?

Really put yourself into the end users’ shoes. What are their needs? How is your product really helping them? What’s the impact to their bottom line or day-to-day?

Many entrepreneurs make a crucial mistake when focusing on the solution rather than the problem. - The problem is more likely to persist during the course of your venture. - Your solution will likely pivot during the time of product development, release and market penetration. Focusing solely on the solution without understanding the problem space, might put you in a position where required product pivoting will be much more difficult with the ever-changing market around you. Here is a quick start to understanding your problem space: - investigate the market size and market maturity - ask yourself, who is likely to consume or to pay for your solution - determine the lifetime value of your user, shorter pain relief vs long-term

Consumer focus and research is essential to startup success in established competitive categories. If you are a startup inexperienced with consumer research, tattoo this on your hand: value does not reside in a product; value is a human judgment that resides in the mind of the consumer. Consumers—not companies—are the arbiters of value. Their frank responses to product ideas or prototypes can disabuse you of any infatuation you may have for your product ideas and save you from wasting time and money.

Once you have done consumer research, you will realize not all consumers value the same thing—that’s why we segment consumers for marketing purposes. To be efficient with limited marketing money, we need to target those consumers most likely to value what we make and craft our messages with those consumers’ values in mind. And we need to create virtuous feedback loops by listening carefully to our customers so we can continually improve the appeal of our products to those most likely to buy them. These are essential components of product differentiation, brand positioning, and competitive strategy.

Don’t let perfection be the enemy of good enough here. The kinks will get ironed out. Get this in the hands of real users so you can see its true colors and iterate.

Determining the market moving set of product features and capabilities needs understanding the trends into the future - with customer needs and evolving externalities. If a startup merely follows the present developments with incremental enhancements the opportunity is limited and the potential for gain is severely constrained. To 'change the world' one must anticipate and visualize the future today and take bold steps towards that paradigm. The iPhone wasn't invented by adding features to the Nokia or Motorola flip phones. Neither was the Ford Model T mass produced by adding features to the horse carriage. Changing the world will always need brave founders/startups to peer into the future even though it may seem blurry and hazy at first.

Need proof of Shiba Bhowmik’s comment? Look at the most recent Forbes Fortune 500. Companies that invented new ways of doing things are among the most valued in the world. Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Tesla, and Meta Platforms are among the top ten. Their aggregate market value was a breathtaking $8.35 trillion! These six represent a mere 1.2% of the top 500 companies in the U.S., but they account for 8.75% of sales, 17% of profits, and 25% of the entire market value of the U.S. Fortune 500. These companies didn’t get there by asking customers what they want. As 19th century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer observed, “Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.”