The first version of your product is probably solving the wrong problem.

I've been thinking about something that surprised me while building AI products.

The first version of a product almost never fails because of poor engineering. It fails because it's answering the wrong question.

Early on, I thought my job as a founder was to keep adding features.

Now I spend much more time asking:

"What problem is this feature actually solving?"

Sometimes I realize the feature isn't the answer.

It's my attempt to avoid having a difficult conversation with users.

Building feels productive. Talking to customers feels uncomfortable. So it's tempting to build first.

One conversation recently changed how I think about this.

A user didn't ask for another feature.

They simply wanted the existing workflow to require fewer clicks.

That tiny improvement created more value than several features I'd planned.

Since then I've started asking myself one question before opening my editor:

If I couldn't write any code today, how would I solve this customer's problem?

Surprisingly, the answer often isn't another feature.

Sometimes it's better onboarding.

Sometimes it's clearer messaging.

Sometimes it's removing something instead of adding it.

I'm curious how other makers think about this.

What's one feature you were convinced people needed... but later realized they didn't?

Those stories usually teach more than our successful launches.