In the old days of the internet, product building followed the Field of Dreams doctrine: “If you build it, they will come”. Now that the internet market is oversaturated, the phrase isn’t exactly true… at least, not for its original purpose.
Back around the early to mid 90s, there were so few internet apps being developed that anyone could just come in and build market share. This is what ended up causing the boom of the late 90s, which led to the bust of the early 2000s.
A big reason for that Internet Bust was that many people thought that their products were self-evident; that is, they bought into the facts that they were told during the early 90s age. In present times we now know that building the product, isn’t everything — but the idea of building still comes true.
You see, building is no longer about just product. It’s about marketing, and customer service, and design. It’s also about building until they come, not building until the product is finished.
You see, the main rule of the modern product market is to keep building until they come. That is, consistency is the key.
Of course, there’s a few exceptions to this rule. Obviously a product in an already saturated market isn’t going to get many sales no matter what you do. But if you’re able to adapt to a good position (you don’t have to do this at the start — you can build toward a better position), you can find a way to sell what you’re making.
Know this: the get-rich-quick days of the early 90s are over. Now, the product game is the long game. And if you’re able to play the long game, then you win.
