Who asked for this?

I was reading a review of AI tools, and one line stuck out: “Generate AI backgrounds in Google Meet (who asked for this?)” AI backgrounds are obviously a throwaway; the thing that grabbed me was that question: “Who asked for this?”

“Who asked for this?” is a question that comes up a lot in my startup work, especially at earlier stage companies with technical founders. Like mine, years ago. Unlike at Google, it can be the difference between company success and failure. It is THE question that matters. If you can’t figure out who actually wants what you’re building, or a feature you’re building, no amount of GTM genius will save you.

The vision arc

Most great, world changing companies start with a vision that nobody asked for. The customer doesn’t actually know what they want because they can’t imagine it. But the founder can imagine it. The founder owns the vision. It’s the founder’s insight–whether it’s an entirely new technology, or a novel combination of existing technologies–that forms the product vision.

Mark Gainey and Michael Horvath wanted to compete on bike rides with friends around the country. They took the GPS files off of Garmin devices and made a service called Strava where a community of athletes could see each others’ rides, see the routes on a map, and compete on routes at different times. Nobody (or very few) saw that combination of technologies; for sure nobody was asking for that. But Mark and Michael did and now tens of millions of people use Strava every day.

Millions of people didn’t ask to do spin classes in their apartments, but John Foley combined spin classes, Android tablets and magnetic-resistance bike trainers into Peloton. That vision of SoulCycle like classes in your own home created a category.

The Tesla founders (Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning) had a vision for affordable, practical mass market electric cars that Elon bought into. They started with an expensive roadster. Few other people looked at golf carts and thought “I could put an electric motor in a Lotus and make it go 0-60 in 3 seconds”. The founders has the vision. Nobody asked for it; it was just clear that they wanted it.

Many founders turn out to be wrong. Which is part of the process. Some of them manage to pivot to something that people do want, perhaps based on an insight from their initial plan. NextDoor, Segment, Slack, Lyft–there are countless examples of pivots.

Eventually, if that initial vision (or the pivot) is successful, ownership of the vision shifts. Customers start to use and embrace your new technology. They have their own vision for what your company’s products should do and look like.

I’m working on a new product and would appreciate your input. Shape what I’m working on–after all, I’m working for you!

The Tesla example

The Tesla Roadster was a success. It showed that an electric car was not, in fact, just a bigger golf cart. The Model S continued to deliver something that people really wanted. But what about Tesla’s later decisions?

Take Model X. Eight million SUVs were sold in 2023 in the United States. And yet only 6,001 were Model X (0.075% of the market). Who asked for a family SUV with doors that go like this?

Then there’s the Cybertruck. In fact, someone did “ask” for it–after a fashion. According to Walter Isaacson’s biography, Musk’s son Saxon, who at the time was maybe a decade too young to be in the market for a truck, asked “Why doesn’t the future look like the future?” So he built a truck that none of the 2.5 million US pickup truck buyers would consider buying. They’ve sold on the order of 30,000 units, but compare that to the 750,000 F-150s or roughly 750,000 combined GMC Sierra and Chevy Silverados sold every year.

How to do it right

By knowing “who asked for this” whenever you’re making a significant investment, you can predictably meet or even exceed customer expectations. Contrast Tesla’s recent launches with the four-door versions of Jeep Wranglers or Land Rover Defenders. Customers had been demanding those versions for years–illegally importing 4-door Land Rovers, or modifying 2-door Jeeps to be 4-doors. Now they’re some of the best selling SUVs, period. When customers share their vision, it’s worth listening.

If it’s founder’s intuition, fine, but you only get to be wrong a few times (though it feels like I’ve been waiting a long time for the market to catch up with Elon). More likely, you look through support requests, or talk to customers, and it’s obvious. Whether everyone is asking for the same thing, or clusters of people are asking for similar things, you can invest in building what people actually want.

Strava and Peloton both eventually launched running. Why? Because it turns out many cyclists also run. They kept asking for it. After building out cycling, it was pretty easy to see who was asking for running.

Why the who matters

When you know who you are building for, you will be much more successful. Not only are you able to make choices informed by your customers’ world view and day to day activities, you’re also able to build marketing around it that just works.

Many founders (myself included) try to build for everyone. After all, VCs like big markets, and what’s bigger than everyone? But it turns out very, very few things ever reach everyone. Smartphones (91% in the US). Microwaves (96%). Not much else makes this list–indoor plumbing, refrigerators. Very, very few things are really for everyone. Instead, if you focus on a very specific who, you will find more success. Which is why “who asked for this” is such a great question.

Startup tradeoffs

As your company grows and has a larger and larger customer base who, if you’re lucky, rely on your products, you’ll find yourself increasingly unable to pursue your own vision because your customers have their own vision.

Just remember to ask the key question–”Who asked for this”–when you’re building new features or new products. Was it for your customers? Or did someone–even the founder/CEO–just feel like building it?

I’m thinking of building something for founders and want to know if anyone has asked for it (well, they have, but I am curious to know if you have this problem). Please click the button to tell me what you think! 2 mins or less of your time.