Just Because You Can Build It Doesn't Mean You Should - ProductFTW #103

In a world where it's become incredibly easy to go from ideation to execution in minutes, I think it's more important than ever to focus on the fundamentals of product: vision and strategy. Your vision defines the problem you're solving, who you're solving it for, and what you want to achieve. Your strategy defines how you'll get there and differentiate from competitors.

I have fallen for the AI lure too. I come up with an idea and immediately think, "Oh, I can just build it." What I'm missing, though, is the why. Why do I need to build it? Does it already exist? Why would someone choose mine?

With everyone going straight to execution, I worry we're creating noise that makes it harder for consumers to find products that solve their problems. We convince ourselves AI will solve discovery, too. If we optimize our products for AI, surely it'll recommend them. However, if your product lacks a clear vision and cohesive experience, how is AI supposed to distinguish you from competitors?

Most recently, I was looking for a budgeting app. I'm specific about how I budget. Today, I do everything in spreadsheets. They work for planning, but they don't easily show how I'm performing against those plans. I also like getting granular. I want to know what my heating services cost every month, even if I only pay quarterly or at the beginning of a season.

Naturally, my first thought was, "Hey, I could just build a budgeting app based on my spreadsheets." I could explain my approach to AI and probably get something functional pretty quickly. As soon as I said "budgeting app," though, I'm sure at least three existing products came to mind. Why would I build another one?

Whenever I have an idea, I go to my good old friends Google, Reddit, and the App Store. YNAB, Monarch Money, Copilot, and countless others already help people manage their finances. I download them and figure out what works and what doesn't. What are they missing? What frustrates users? Who are they building for? Retirees? Families? Couples combining finances? Those audiences have different needs.

This is where I start thinking about my product vision. What problem am I solving, why, and for whom? Just because I have a problem doesn't mean there's a market of people who share it. Even if others share it, will they pay for a solution? I need evidence beyond my own experience, whether from reviews, forums, or conversations with potential users.

Let's say my research reveals that people want more granular transaction data. When I go to Target, I might spend $100 on groceries, household supplies, clothes, and a birthday present. My budgeting app sees $100 at Target. I want it to know that $30 went toward groceries, $20 toward household supplies, $40 toward clothes, and $10 toward a gift.

Maybe people are complaining about this everywhere. Great! I've identified a problem. Before building, though, I need to ask why nobody has solved it.

It's easy to assume budgeting apps haven't thought of the feature. The reality is much more complicated. Most get transaction data through financial institutions and open banking providers. That data typically includes the merchant, amount, and date, not individual items. The bank knows I spent $100 at Target. It doesn't necessarily know what I bought.

Where will I get that information? Retailers? Another provider? Will users connect shopping accounts or upload receipts? How much friction does that create? What will it cost to deliver, and will people pay enough to make it worthwhile?

I might discover the bigger opportunity isn't a budgeting app at all, but providing receipt-level data to open banking providers. That's an entirely different product. Stumbling onto it during that research doesn't mean I've validated it. I'd need to start discovery again with a new audience.

I think we sometimes treat vision and strategy as exercises for after we've built a prototype. Then we scramble to position, price, and sell it. We have it backward. Discovery should help us decide what problem is worth solving before we decide what to build. Time is still money, even to AI agents.

For my budgeting app, maybe the vision is helping people understand their true cost of living, regardless of when expenses hit their accounts. I may not need receipt-level data at all. The problem worth solving could be helping people plan for irregular expenses.

This is where having an opinionated product matters. We've written about sticking to your vision and building opinionated products. You can't be everything to everyone. If I try to solve every complaint about budgeting apps, I'll probably create another complicated app that does nothing particularly well. Research should inform my vision, not replace it. Just because users want a feature doesn't mean it belongs in my product. I still need to decide which problems align with what I'm trying to achieve and which ones I'm willing to leave unsolved.

A unique feature isn't necessarily differentiation, either. What's stopping an established app from copying it? Your strategy needs to account for how you'll keep delivering distinct value, including what it costs and what customers will pay.

I love that AI removes friction between an idea and a working product. I encourage everyone to build for fun, experiment, and learn. If your why is learning and your audience is yourself, go build that budgeting app. You don't need market research to justify a personal project.

If you want to build something people use and ultimately pay for, the fundamentals haven't changed. AI can help with research, validation, and execution, but it shouldn't become an excuse to skip those steps. If you haven't read Start with Why by Simon Sinek, I recommend it as a reminder to understand why before deciding what to build.

At the end of the day, the ability to build something doesn't automatically make it a product worth building. The easier execution becomes, the more important vision and strategy are going to be.

About ProductFTW

ProductFTW is a weekly newsletter about product management, with a focus on real-life experiences in startups. We want to help product leaders be successful by giving realistic approaches that aren’t for giant tech companies. We know you don’t have a full-time product designer on each team. We know your software probably hasn’t been used by millions of people worldwide–yet. We’re here to bridge the content gap from building your product and team to scaling it.