Most founders build products hoping customers will show up. That’s backwards.
I recently spoke with Business News Tips about why your product roadmap should follow market demand, not the other way around. It’s a conversation that challenges the Silicon Valley obsession with “building first, finding customers later.”
Here’s what stood out: I’ve watched countless startups spend 18 months perfecting a product nobody asked for. They build features based on assumptions, competitor analysis, or what sounds impressive in pitch decks. Then they launch to crickets. The market didn’t need what they built—it needed something adjacent, simpler, or entirely different.
The alternative? Let market signals write your roadmap. When I’m building something new, I start with conversations. What keeps potential customers up at night? What clunky workaround are they using right now? Where’s the friction they’ve accepted as “just how things work”? Those answers become features. Not theoretical ones—actual solutions to problems people are actively experiencing.
This approach changes everything about velocity. Instead of quarterly planning cycles debating hypothetical user journeys, you’re responding to real demand. A potential client mentions a pain point? That becomes next week’s sprint. An existing customer requests functionality? You validate whether ten others need it, then build it. The roadmap stays fluid because the market is fluid.
The golf analogy applies here: you don’t swing the club first and hope the ball shows up. You assess the lie, check the wind, consider the hazards, then commit to the shot. Market-driven development is the same—observe conditions, validate what’s needed, then execute with precision.
If you’ve ever wondered why some products find traction immediately while others struggle for years, it’s usually because one followed market demand and the other followed internal assumptions. The difference isn’t subtle.
Read the full article to see how this philosophy plays out in practice.
The market tells you what to build if you’re paying attention. Most founders aren’t listening.