How To Not Suck At Startups #3: Why Listening Is Smarter For You Than Being Smart

Imagine building something you're passionate about, pouring in time, energy, and resources. It's easy to get wrapped up in the excitement of your vision and the strategies you spend hours crafting.

But have you ever noticed how the most successful products out there always seem almost effortless, like they were always meant to exist? That's no accident!

The truth is, those products didn't start with a focus on the strategy—they started with a deep understanding of what people actually want.

Entrepreneurship is a dance between you and your chosen market.

Listen closely to potential customers, and they respond by showing you the way forward. When you truly understand their needs, your strategies become natural extensions of that insight, and the product-market fit almost falls into place (along with the funding).

So, if you're building and it isn't working, stop!

Take a step back. Ask yourself not just what you can create, but what did your customers actually ask for? Did you take the time to listen?

Let their words and actions guide your behavior.

The more you align with paying customers, the more your product will feel inevitable, like the missing piece of life that both you and those customers have always been waiting for!