The decision to launch a new app, rather than add a feature, was driven by user research revealing a different core "job to be done." One app was for getting kids to sleep; the new one was for passing on faith. Understanding this motivational difference was key to unlocking growth with a separate product.
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A company with modest growth experimented with niche content for a small user segment, revealing a massive, underserved market. This led to a second, separate app that quickly surpassed the original product's revenue and drove hyper-growth, challenging the "focus on one thing" dogma.
Intentionally create open-ended, flexible products. Observe how power users "abuse" them for unintended purposes. This "latent demand" reveals valuable, pre-validated opportunities for new features or products, as seen with Facebook's Marketplace and Dating features.
True differentiation comes from "deep delight," where emotional needs are addressed within the core functional solution. This is distinct from "surface delight" like animations or confetti, which are nice but fail to build the strong emotional connections that drive loyalty.
The most effective user segmentation is based on underlying motivations. Identifying both functional ("inspire me with new music") and emotional ("help me feel less lonely") drivers is the crucial first step to engineering meaningful product delight that resonates deeply with users.
The key to effective portfolio entrepreneurship isn't random diversification. It's about serving the same customer segment across multiple products. This creates a cohesive ecosystem where each new offering benefits from compounding knowledge and trust, making many things feel like one thing.
Canva's success wasn't from targeting competitors but from identifying a real market gap through their first niche product (a yearbook tool). When users asked to use the tool for newsletters, it validated a larger, unsolved pain point that Canva then focused on exclusively.
To grow an established product, introduce new formats (e.g., Instagram Stories, Google AI Mode) as separate but integrated experiences. This allows you to tap into new user behaviors without disrupting the expectations and mental models users have for the core product, avoiding confusion and accelerating adoption.
For specialized products, user motivation is more critical than age or location. Focusing on the user's mindset, life stage, and readiness for change (psychographics) can lead to significantly higher engagement and retention than targeting a broad demographic group that may not be ready for the solution.
