Hera's founders initially built a full video editor but found users were only excited by the motion graphics feature. They pivoted to focus exclusively on that, built a prototype in two days, and were accepted into YC a week later, validating the importance of following user excitement over a preconceived vision.
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Cues' initial product was a specialized AI design agent. However, they observed that users were more frequently uploading files to use it as a knowledge base. Recognizing this emergent behavior, they pivoted to a more horizontal product, which was key to their rapid growth and product-market fit.
Birdies was founded as an indoor-only slipper brand. When customers began wearing them outside, founder Bianca Gates had to abandon her original vision. The company's massive growth came only after she surrendered and pivoted the product to meet this unexpected user demand.
Don't just collect feedback from all users equally. Identify and listen closely to the few "visionary users" who intuitively grasp what's next. Their detailed feedback can serve as a powerful validation and even a blueprint for your long-term product strategy.
Founders can waste time trying to force an initial idea. The key is to remain open-minded and identify where the market is surprisingly easy to sell into. Mercor found hypergrowth by pivoting from general hiring to serving the intense, specific needs of AI labs.
Despite hundreds of thousands of users, Hera's founder doesn't believe they have product-market fit. Their true benchmark is when a user can create a complete one-minute product video in under 30 minutes. This focus on a core, high-value workflow supersedes vanity metrics like user growth.
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.
Instead of a full product overhaul, Gamma bet the company on perfecting the initial 30-second user experience. By making onboarding so magical that users felt compelled to share it, they unlocked true organic, viral growth that had previously been missing.
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.
Instead of chasing trends or pivoting every few weeks, founders should focus on a singular mission that stems from their unique expertise and conviction. This approach builds durable, meaningful companies rather than simply chasing valuations.
Despite user requests, Supercut is holding back on building a traditional video editor. They believe it would become an "excuse" for their AI-powered "auto edit" to be mediocre. This strategic constraint forces them to perfect their core differentiator before adding table-stakes features.
