Oftentimes when we talk about product design, we end up talking about how good Steve Jobs was at it. And he was, but in the of messianic fervour that follows the memory of Steve around, it’s easy to forget that was an arsehole – it’s worth reading his daughter’s autobiography to get a handle on the fact that he was not a nice man.
I mention this, because I have to cover my position in order to incant his very valid advice that in product design you should trust your gut and not be too swayed by focus groups and research.
As a non-technology founder, you’ll hear a lot about building your “minimal viable product”, which means experimenting with customers.
But don’t design by committee. You have to put your signature, your flair, your VISION on the product that you build. It’s your idea, and it’s how you want to change the world in the way that you do. This means you need to balance between socialising the work to you’re not wasting money, but also finding your voice and your expression so that you’re developing a GOOD product.