I think worthwhile products often come from taking on difficult problems: I encourage pursuing hard problems and believe products that solve them are great. This is one way I think about what makes a product worth building, alongside my emphasis on product quality comes first.
On November 26, 2024, I wrote, “Go after solving hard problems. Products that solve hard problems are great.” I did not name a particular problem or product.
On April 13, 2025, I said, “Product and timing matter so much.” I connected that to seeing a mediocre ad and mediocre product page “printing,” without defining what “printing” meant or identifying the example.
On June 21, 2025, I called the iPhone, NVDIA chip, TSLA model Y, ChatGPT, and Excel winning products, then prompted people to “Think bigger 😳”. I did not explain what made each one a winner or what thinking bigger would mean.
On November 13, 2025, I argued that a winning product is not defined by sales alone: “A ‘winning product’ doesn’t just sell, it gives value to people.” I said my breakthroughs in selling online had come from understanding the value customers receive. My practical advice is to envision myself as the customer—or better yet, to be the customer. This connects product success to understanding mining social media for customer research.
Related: product quality comes first, marketing and distribution matter, where to find product ideas