We had a client who will remain nameless. He came to us with what he thought was the next big idea: a platform to connect high school musicians with college recruiters. The vision? Students could create online resumes for free, complete with video and audio recordings, awards, and accomplishments. Meanwhile, recruiters from colleges could highlight their programs and use the platform to search, browse, and connect with these talented young musicians.
It sounded great—on paper. The entrepreneur behind it had spoken to a few college recruiters who assured him they’d pay for such a platform. But as anyone in the business world will tell you, verbal enthusiasm and signed checks are not the same thing. When we finally rolled out an MVP (which, in hindsight, was more “most” than “minimum”), those promised checks never came. The platform fizzled out, unable to gain traction. Turns out, we had a solution in search of a problem.
But after reading Marty Cagan’s Inspired: How to Create Products Customers Love, years later it hit me: we let the vision drive the process and skipped the critical step of validating the idea. If only we’d taken a more deliberate approach, we might have saved ourselves—and our client—a lot of heartache.
Here’s what I learned, thanks to Marty Cagan, and how applying his principles could have changed the outcome.
Lesson 1: Start with the Customer, Not the Idea
Cagan emphasizes the importance of a customer-centric approach. Successful products emerge from deeply understanding the customer’s problems and their context. Our mistake? We assumed we knew what recruiters needed because a few of them said they liked the concept.
What We Should Have Done: Instead of diving straight into development, we should have spent more time talking to recruiters and students. What challenges did they face? What tools were they already using? Did this platform solve a burning problem, or was it just a “nice to have”? By asking these questions, we’d have realized early on that while the idea was interesting, it didn’t address an urgent need for most recruiters.
Lesson 2: Outcomes Over Outputs
One of the most valuable insights from Inspired is the distinction between outputs (features) and outcomes (value delivered). We were so focused on building a feature-rich platform that we didn’t stop to ask whether those features delivered real value.
What We Should Have Done: Instead of measuring success by the number of features we built, we should have defined clear outcomes tied to recruiter needs. For instance, “Does this platform increase meaningful connections between recruiters and students?” By focusing on outcomes, we could have designed and tested features that addressed recruiters’ actual priorities rather than simply adding bells and whistles.
Lesson 3: Validate Early, Validate Often
Cagan highlights the importance of rapid prototyping and testing to validate ideas before committing to development. We skipped this step entirely. Instead of testing a simple prototype with users, we went all-in on building a polished product.
What We Should Have Done: We could have created low-fidelity prototypes or even mocked up static screens to test the concept with recruiters and students. This would have allowed us to gather feedback, refine the idea, and determine whether recruiters were truly willing to pay for the platform. Early validation could have revealed that while recruiters liked the concept, they didn’t see enough value to justify the cost.
Lesson 4: Empathy is Your Superpower
Cagan’s emphasis on empathy and active listening resonates deeply. Truly understanding the customer’s perspective is what separates successful products from flops. We thought we understood recruiters, but in reality, we hadn’t taken the time to walk in their shoes.
What We Should Have Done: We needed to dig deeper. By engaging with recruiters through interviews and observations, we could have uncovered their true pain points. Questions like, “What’s the hardest part of recruiting student musicians?” or “What tools do you rely on most?” might have revealed gaps that the platform could fill. Instead, we relied on surface-level feedback and assumptions.
Solving the Right Problem
Marty Cagan’s Inspired taught us that building a product isn’t just about execution—it’s about solving the right problem. Looking back, there are clear changes we could have made to course-correct. First, we should have validated the idea with a broader audience, ensuring there was a genuine need before writing a single line of code. Next, we needed to define specific success metrics, like increasing recruiter-student connections, and design the product to achieve those outcomes. We should have built prototypes to test the concept early, gathering feedback to iterate and refine. Finally, aligning our team around these goals would have prevented miscommunication and wasted effort.
These lessons came at a cost, but they’ve fundamentally changed how we approach product development. If you’re in product management—or even just dreaming up your next big idea—do yourself a favor and read Inspired. And if you’re looking for a dev team that goes beyond building features to truly solving the right problems, contact us. Let’s create something your customers will love.
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