This document discusses what is needed to create successful products. It argues that while ideas, engineering and design are important, they are not enough on their own. Successful products solve real problems for people. The document examines examples of products like Path and Google Wave that failed, despite having great ideas, founders, engineering and design. It suggests the key lessons are to talk to people to understand their needs and problems, fail early by testing ideas quickly, and to not give up when facing failure.

1. So, what do we need to
create great products?

2. Building a successful
Product

3. Ingredients

4. An Idea

5. Engineering

6. Design

7. A typical product development
process...
+
An
Idea
+
Great
Engineering
Awesome
Designers

8. Is this all it takes?

9. How many
of you
know
Path?

10. Great idea
The “Anti-social” Network

11. Great founders
founded by
ex-Facebook / ex-apple
Dave Morin and
Napster co-founder
Shawn Fanning.

12. Great design

14. Only 6 million users
after 3 years
Pivoted thrice

15. How many
of you
remember
Wave?

16. Great idea
Email + IM + Blogging + Comments +
Social + Groups + Forums + Document
Sharing + Voice + Video + Collaboration
+ Platform

17. Great founders
Lars and Jens
Rasmussen.
(same guys who also
built Google maps)
Funded by Google

18. Great engineering

20. Announced Aug 2010
Shut down April 2012

21. So, does an Idea +
Engineering + Design =>
Successful Product

22. Maybe not

23. Lesson 1
Learn and
understand
people and their
goals.
Talk to them early
and often

24. People don’t care about your
great idea

25. People don’t care about your
awesome design

26. People don’t care about your
engineering prowess

27. Oh I use that app because it has
animated buttons
- said no one, ever.

28. People don’t care about
an app

29. People care about what
an app solves

30. People have jobs to be
done

31. People don’t want to visit
amazon

32. People want to buy a
book

33. People don’t want to use
facebook

34. People want to keep in
touch with friends

35. People don’t care
about your
app or website.
if there was an easier way to
get their job done without an
app. they’d prefer that.

36. Did Path ask people if
they want an “antisocial” network?

37. Did Google Ask people if they want an
Email + IM + Blogging + Comments +
Social + Groups + Forums + Document
Sharing + Voice + Video + Collaboration
+ Platform

38. Talk to people

39. Solve their problems

40. Fail early. Fail often.

42. People will buy it

43. Because we are
Microsoft

44. Microsoft Takes $900
Million Writeoff on
Surface RT inventory.

47. Not a great phone.
Not a great gaming
device

48. Spend millions on
research and design

49. Ship fast and fail
early.
Don’t fall in love
with your ideas.

50. “Release early, release often.
We think that's the best way to develop software
that delights people.”

51. Maps vs Wave

53. Fail early. Fail often.

56. Access to great talent

57. Access to tons of capital

58. Failure is never final

59. "I have not failed 700 times. I have not
failed once. I have succeeded in proving
that those 700 ways will not work. When
I have eliminated the ways that will not
work, I will find the way that will work."
- Thomas Edison

60. Don’t give up

61. Lesson 1: Talk to people

62. Lesson 2: Fail early. Fail often

63. Lesson 3: Don’t give up