Successful startups tap into organic customer needs that already exist—a 'pull' from the market. In contrast, 'conjuring demand' involves a founder trying to convince a market of a new worldview without prior evidence. This is a much harder and less reliable path to building a business.

Many founders perceive selling before building a product as an extreme approach. They prefer the comfort of building first, even though it wastes months on irrelevant products. This aversion stems from a fear of interrupting people without a finished product, a mindset that equates building with preparation and early selling with being premature.

Instead of searching for a market to serve, founders should solve a problem they personally experience. This "bottom-up" approach guarantees product-market fit for at least one person—the founder—providing a solid foundation to build upon and avoiding the common failure of abstract, top-down market analysis.

This reframes the fundamental goal of a startup away from a supply-side focus (building) to a demand-side focus (discovery). The market's unmet need is the force that pulls a company and its product into existence, not the other way around.

Releasing a minimum viable product isn't about cutting corners; it's a strategic choice. It validates the core idea, generates immediate revenue, and captures invaluable customer feedback, which is crucial for building a better second version.