Build for Customers, Not Hype

Author

Jasiel Martin-Odoom
October 13, 2024

SDS 048: Build for Customers, Not Hype

Hey! thank you for reading issue 048 of Startup Definition Sunday (SDS). You can read past issues here.

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Emails are piling up as we speak. Conference weeks are always the busiest, and Moonshot was no different. Between speaking on a panel hosted by my friend, Yvonne Okafor, the co-founder of A&A collective, and discussing opportunities with investor colleagues and promising founders, I left the conference with one key question: Who are we building for?

If you remove the startup swag, the investor ideas, and the endless exchange of contact information, all the startup hype doesn’t matter without customers.

In today's funding downturn, it's crucial for new founders to keep customers at the heart of product development. By focusing on their needs, challenges, and priorities, you can create solutions that truly resonate and drive growth.

Here are three ways I've seen successful companies adopt a customer-centric approach:

Implement continuous customer feedback: Don’t wait for your product to be "finished" to get input from your audience. Regularly gather feedback through interviews, surveys, or usability tests. This helps you adjust and make informed decisions during development. If you build for paying customers, your startup will naturally attract investors.

Develop user personas: Understand your ideal customers. Who are they? What are their goals and challenges? How do they solve the problem your product addresses? Answering these questions helps design a solution that meets their needs. If you need help creating user personas, this quick guide is a great start.

Prioritize features based on customer value: It’s tempting to add every feature, but this can lead to a cluttered product. Focus on features that provide real value to customers. Start with essentials, then add more as needed.

My two pesewas:

Conferences are valuable, especially for building networks. But they end. What keeps your startup going is paying customers. Focus on them first.

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If you only read one thing this week, make it this...

Why is it worth your time? I met Franklin, the author and investor at Chui Ventures, at the Moonshot conference. We discussed Nigeria’s current state and opportunities. Despite being written 7 years ago, the article argues: The Nigerian economy is dominated by inefficient government-run enterprises rather than a market-driven, private sector-led system. "Nigerian Capitalism" proposes a system where the government focuses on regulation and social services, while the private sector drives production, job creation, and growth. Do you agree?

That's all for today. As always, thank you for being an engaged reader.

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I'll catch up with you in two weeks with more actionable insights.

Jasiel

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