Features are a trap

I’ve started planning a new side project.

Its most obvious competitor has thousands of employees and is worth billions of dollars.

So no, I’m not going to compete on features.

Instead, I’m focused on figuring out the small set of features my customer actually uses — and making those feel tighter, faster, and better integrated than the big guy’s version.

The best way to figure that out? Ask people how they actually use the tools they already rely on.

“What do you use in your current tool?”

Not what they think they want. Not what they think other people use. Just what they do, right now.

Then follow up with:

• What frustrates you about your current tool?
• What can’t you do with it?
• What do you love about it?

You’re not chasing feature requests. You’re looking for the day-to-day pain and delight — the stuff that actually matters when someone uses your product for real work.