There’s a lot of advice out there about building products, especially in startups. Frameworks, growth hacks, playbooks. But when you strip it all down, one idea stands above everything else: you have to build something people actually want.
It sounds obvious. But in reality, it’s where most people go wrong.
Listening to insights from Michael Seibel, combined with my own experience across different workplaces and roles, one thing becomes clear success isn’t about having the most impressive idea. It’s about understanding real problems, real people, and staying close to both.
It always starts with the problem. Not the product, not the features, not the vision deck the problem. If you can’t clearly explain the problem you’re solving in one or two sentences, you probably don’t understand it well enough yet. And if you don’t understand the problem, you won’t know if you’ve solved it.
I’ve seen this from very different angles in my own work. In one role at an energy company, the product itself was critical people depend on it in their daily lives. There’s no room for confusion or friction when the product is that essential. But just as important as the product was the service around it. Supporting customers, guiding them, and making sure things worked smoothly wasn’t an add-on it was a core part of the experience.
In a completely different setting, working in shoe retail, I learned something equally valuable. Selling wasn’t just about presenting a product it was about understanding where people got stuck. Instead of treating feedback as complaints, it became a way to refine the entire process. Why did someone hesitate? What made them unsure? What part of the experience didn’t feel right?
That shift—from reacting to complaints to actively listening changes everything. Because it helps you see patterns. And once you see patterns, you can improve the product, the process, or the experience in a meaningful way.
Another key lesson is that not everyone is your customer especially in the beginning. It’s tempting to think broadly, to say “this is for everyone.” But the most successful products almost always start by serving a very specific group of people really well.
That focus matters. Because when you know exactly who you’re building for, you can actually talk to them. You can learn from them. You can see how often they experience the problem, how frustrating it is, and whether they’re actively looking for a solution.
And that’s where things get real.
Because not all problems are equal. Some are mild inconveniences. Others are urgent, recurring frustrations that people would happily pay to solve. The difference between those two is everything. If a problem happens rarely or doesn’t really bother people, it’s incredibly hard to build a strong product around it. But if it’s something frequent and painful, you’re onto something much more valuable.
That’s also why talking to users matters so much. Not just any users but the right ones. The ones who actually have the problem. It’s surprisingly easy to get distracted by feedback from people who don’t really need your product. Friends, colleagues, even well-meaning stakeholders they can all pull you in the wrong direction if they’re not your real customer.
I’ve seen similar patterns in workplace environments as well. The strongest teams aren’t the ones guessing what people want they’re the ones constantly listening, adjusting, and improving. There’s a kind of humility in that process. An understanding that you don’t have all the answers upfront.
Another important shift is how you think about your product itself. It’s not art. It’s not something that just needs to exist beautifully. A product only works if people actually use it. If it doesn’t solve a real problem in a useful way, it doesn’t matter how polished or clever it is.
That’s why speed and iteration matter more than perfection. Instead of spending months trying to build the perfect solution, it’s often better to build something simple, get it in front of users quickly, and learn from how they interact with it.
And learning is the key word here.
Because building a great product isn’t a single moment it’s a process. You test ideas, you measure what works, you adjust, and you try again. Over and over. The companies that succeed aren’t the ones that get everything right from the start they’re the ones that get better continuously.
This also requires a certain mindset within a team. You need an environment where ideas can be shared openly, tested quickly, and evaluated honestly. Where decisions aren’t driven by ego, but by what actually moves things forward. Where people care enough to challenge each other but also align around a common goal.
And that brings it back to something I’ve learned across different workplaces: culture plays a bigger role than we often admit. When people believe in what they’re building, when they understand the purpose behind it, and when they feel connected to the outcome it shows. In the product, in the decisions, and in the results.
In the end, building something people want isn’t just about the idea. It’s about clarity, focus, and execution. It’s about understanding problems deeply, staying close to your users, and being willing to adapt.
And maybe most importantly it’s about knowing how and when to truly listen.
