How to build projects people actually want

1. Solve a real problem

Building projects people actually want all comes down to solving a real problem. One important step in doing this is talking to people before you start building. It’s a common mistake among founders to just start building without making sure the problem they’re solving is actually real and significant enough for anyone to pay for the solution.

To determine if a problem is real and worth solving, you talk to people to understand:

• How they’re currently solving it

• How painful it is

• How much they’re willing to pay for a solution

It’s only once you’ve understood this you know if you’re dealing with a real problem. I’ve made the mistake myself of spending months building projects that no one wanted. It’s not fun trying every marketing strategy under the sun without any results, you can trust me on that.

2. Validate your idea

Another vital step to building projects people actually want is validating your idea. This simply means that instead of you being the only person who finds your idea valuable, you talk to other people and get them to confirm that it is in fact valuable. The more people you can get to confirm the value of your idea, the safer you’ll feel building it knowing that people are going to use it upon release. 

A common mistake to avoid is asking your other founder friends what they think of the idea. You’ll probably get responses like “it looks cool”. Most of them won’t give you the facts, they’re just being nice. You need to talk to your target audience. They are the ones who will actually pay for, and use your project. Getting commitments to pay for your project is the best validation.

Main takeaways:

• Talk to your target audience, get them to confirm the value of your project

• Don’t validate your idea with your founder friends

3. Start with an MVP, not a full project

You start with an MVP instead of a full project because you don’t want to spend months building a fully fleshed out product, only to realize at launch that no one wants it. Alternatively, that people only value a small feature, meaning you wasted all that time building everything else instead of focusing on that one valuable feature.

Building an MVP allows you to launch faster which means you can start receiving feedback faster. The early stage feedback is so valuable because it will help you shape a project that people actually want and will pay for. The market will help you shape the project it needs.

Here’s what to focus on when building your MVP:

• Solve only the core problem - nothing extra

• Get it out fast

• Make it easy to get user feedback

4. Launch quickly and gather feedback

Once you’ve built your MVP you want to get it out as quickly as possible. The sooner you get your product in front of users, the sooner you can start receiving valuable feedback. Early-stage feedback can reveal gaps in your solution and provide opportunities for improvement.

It’s common for a product to change a lot once the market gets its hands on it and expresses what they really want. This feedback is what slowly shapes your product into something people actually want, and that’s worth paying for. Don't get caught up in perfecting the details of your MVP. Get it out there and start receiving the valuable feedback you need to build a great project.

Conclusion

Building a project people actually want is simple, but not easy. By following these steps you can progress confidently and set yourself up for success building your project.

If you want more help and want to set yourself up for even greater success, ai cofounder might be for you. It's a platform that helps founders go from idea to successful product.