Morgan J. Lopes
1 min readFeb 26, 2022

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The problem is not too many options. It could, however, be too many undifferentiated options. Even if there are only two choices, neither will be able to capture the majority without standing out from the competition in a meaningful way. Purple Cow (by Seth Godin) is a classic book on the topic.

There are plenty of products and apps out there, but how do I know your product is right for me? If I have to experience it before understanding the value, it's unlikely I'll progress that far.

It's why asking friends and family for product feedback is often misleading. Their support of you, not their care of the product, is what prompts their interest. This is why product positioning is so important. I suggest every founder read "Building a Story Brand" and use their one-liner framework to simplify their messaging.

What problem are you trying to solve? A few suggestions for thinking about the problem:

- Frequency. How often does this problem occur?

- Intensity. How impactful is the problem?

- Complexity. How difficult is solving the problem without you?

- Scale. How many people are impacted by the same event?

The problem or a users appetite to solve it, needs to be a strong enough pull to overcome the initial hurdle of experiencing your solution.

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Morgan J. Lopes
Morgan J. Lopes

Written by Morgan J. Lopes

CTO at Fast Company’s World Most Innovative Company (x4). Author of “Code School”, a book to help more people transition into tech.

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