Hiten Shah Reconsiders Product Development: Building Before Broad Validation?

In a recent LinkedIn post, Hiten Shah discusses a significant shift in his long-held approach to software development. For two decades, Shah has adhered to a principle of avoiding building software solely based on personal needs, instead prioritizing extensive market validation to ensure broad customer interest before committing resources. However, his experience with a new product, Beam, has prompted him to reconsider this sequence.

Challenging the Status Quo of Product Development

Traditionally, Shah explains, personal frustration was viewed as a signal of just one potential customer. The high cost of software development necessitated gathering substantial evidence that others shared this problem before embarking on building. This cautious methodology aimed to mitigate risk and ensure market fit.

“For most of the last twenty years, I’ve tried not to build software just because I personally wanted it.”

This established practice, however, has been challenged by the development of Beam. Shah reveals that for this project, the team started by addressing a problem they themselves experienced. The subsequent step involved using the product itself to gauge the prevalence of the issue.

Beam: A Case Study in Early Product Engagement

The strategy with Beam involved building a solution first and then actively researching its market reach. Shah shared that this approach yielded significant insights. When he inquired about the challenges of multi-Mac setups, over 100 individuals responded. Furthermore, 42 of these individuals engaged more deeply, detailing their existing workflows.

“Having something real changed the questions we could ask.”

This direct engagement with a tangible product, Shah suggests, fundamentally altered the nature of the research questions they could pose and the quality of the answers they received. It moved the research from theoretical to practical, grounded in actual user experience.

The Evolving Economics of Software Development

The core of Shah’s evolving perspective lies in the changing economics of software development. He posits that in certain situations, the cost and effort required to build have decreased to a point where the product itself can play a much earlier and more active role in customer research.

“I’m starting to think there are situations where building has become cheap enough that the product itself can join customer research much earlier.”

This represents a departure from the more traditional, validation-first model. Shah’s reflection indicates a potential new paradigm where rapid prototyping and early product release can serve as powerful research tools, potentially accelerating the innovation cycle. He concludes by noting that he has elaborated on this shift in thinking in a more detailed piece.

Implications for Founders and Innovators

Shah’s insights offer a compelling perspective for entrepreneurs and product managers. The traditional advice to ‘build only what the market demands’ is being re-examined in light of modern development capabilities. The success of Beam, as described by Shah, suggests that a ‘build-to-learn’ approach, where the product is an integral part of the research process from its inception, can yield valuable data and potentially faster market entry.

As Hiten Shah points out, the key lies in identifying those situations where the reduced cost of building allows for this earlier integration of the product into the research phase. This strategy, while requiring a different mindset, could unlock new avenues for product discovery and validation.