From Conviction to Concept
Sharpening Your Idea for Product Development
The first phase of building a 0-to-1 product is all about finding an idea you believe in—one that sparks your passion and fuels your conviction. But all too often I find that it's easy to get lost in the excitement of ideation, endlessly brainstorming and theorizing without making meaningful progress.
The real magic happens when you start building. This is where ideas confront reality, where assumptions are tested, and where you uncover what's truly possible. Building forces you to prioritize, make tough decisions, and grapple with the complexities of bringing your vision to life. It's where the real learning happens.
Over the past few weeks, I've spoken with several individuals navigating this crucial phase of 0-to-1 product development. I, myself, am also in the midst of this process with various projects on my team. Along the way, I've found a few strategies particularly valuable:
1. Competitive Landscape: Learning from Those Who Came Before
Even if your idea feels groundbreaking, chances are there are existing products, or at least "similar-ish" ones, operating in the same space. Analyzing the competitive landscape is crucial. It's about understanding what others have done, identifying their strengths and weaknesses, and discerning how you can differentiate and ultimately offer a superior solution.
Remember, if you're challenging an established product, you need to be significantly better to convince users to switch. The value your product adds needs to decisively outweigh the friction it introduces. Products that address a burning need ("need to have") inherently clear this bar more easily. Products that enhance workflows or add delight ("nice to have") require more compelling benefits to justify their adoption. Understanding the competitive landscape is the foundation for developing a winning strategy, a topic I'll explore in a future post.
2. User Focus: Clarity Amidst Uncertainty
Get crystal clear about your target users. Who are they? Where will you find them? Defining your user base up front shapes countless product decisions down the line and helps ensure you're making the right choices.
While identifying who your target users are is important to do early on, it is also okay to adjust your focus as you learn. For example, when we first started building AI Studio, our target was "makers and builders," individuals empowered by generative AI's accessibility. We believed English, as the "new coding language," would enable a new wave of creators. However, we realized we were a bit early. Developers were the more immediate fit, and shifting our focus dramatically impacted our product roadmap and feature prioritization.
3. Defining Scope: Balancing Ambition with Action
I wanted to start this section by saying something to the effect of “you might have a grand vision for your product, but initially, focus on what you can realistically deliver within a short timeframe” - but I realized that this advice can lead to incremental thinking. While reflecting back on all the conversations I’ve been having with people lately, I’m realizing that they tend to fall within 2 buckets:
People who are dreaming SO BIG that they run the risk of never building anything tangible
People who underestimate AI's acceleration, risking incremental builds that quickly become obsolete
The art lies in finding the sweet spot between ambition and action—aiming high enough to avoid settling for mediocrity while staying grounded enough to build something tangible within a reasonable timeframe. Remember, AI is accelerating at an unprecedented pace, but an idea that languishes in development for years is as good as no idea at all.
4. Thinking in Frameworks: Structure Amidst Chaos
I'm a strong advocate for utilizing product-oriented frameworks to analyze problems and opportunities. However, I don't subscribe to a single, rigid framework. Instead, I advocate for "thinking in frameworks." This involves dissecting the problem space, then crafting simple, tailored frameworks that easily highlight and explain how you are thinking about the problem or solution. This structure is incredibly helpful in crafting your product narrative.
5. Spec It Out: From Vision to Reality
Once you've honed your idea into a clear concept, it's time to translate that vision into a tangible blueprint: a Product Requirements Document (PRD). Think of the PRD as the architectural plans for your product, detailing its features, functionality, and intended user experience.
Details matter – be specific. This isn't a high-level vision doc; it's a detailed specification. Articulate the specifics of your product's features, functionality, and user flows. I often use "PM Mocks," simple visual representations, to bring the PRD to life and spark more concrete discussions about the user experience.
I find it helpful to create a solid draft of the PRD first, incorporating all the insights and feedback gathered from previous discussions with the team and key stakeholders - then sharing that out for further comments and feedback. This collaborative approach ensures the PRD is in a good starting state, reflecting a cohesive direction for the product.
Remember, while aiming for a comprehensive PRD upfront sets a strong foundation, it's a living document. Expect it to evolve as you navigate the complexities of development and uncover new insights.
6. Start Building
If there’s one piece of advice I can leave you all with, it’s this:
Lots of people talk. Far fewer build. Be the one that builds.