Ask HN: Breadth vs. Value in product design

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12420057

by ErikVandeWater • 10 years ago

4 6 10 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Paul Graham's 5th piece of advice in his post "Startups in 13 Sentences" was "Better to make a few users love you than a lot ambivalent."

But it seems many startups go broad to start (Reddit, Mint.com, Google) and have succeeded, so how would a startup founder decide whether to go broad with their design vs targeting a particular user segment?

endswapper2• 10 years ago

You appear to be missing the point of the sentence and your question demonstrates this.

It's more valuable to have unbridled enthusiasm from a few users, than a bunch of users who don't care, and would easily swap you out for an alternative. Those enthusiastic users will be your champion, your marketing, your calling card and perhaps your best sales presentation. I think that is straightforward.

Using your Google example, their focus, initially was very narrow - search. Anyone might need it, but if you do that one thing really well, they'll love it and other people will hear it and have to try it.

It sounds like you are twisting up model, focus, opportunity and value.

ErikVandeWater• 10 years ago

Search is actually very broad. Who is the target market for "search"? Basically everyone with a web-enabled personal computer at the time. Google addressed everyone with search needs mostly equally: if you wanted to get the weather, or search for an academic article, Google would serve the need. This is as opposed to say Amazon, which started with a narrow target market by only offering books.

valhalla2• 10 years ago

I think it's important to remember that none of these startups were as popular now as in the beginning. This is obvious, but it's hard too think back to the late-90s and put ourselves in the metapsychology of a user who was evangelizing Google when (basically) everyone uses Google now. Same with Reddit and Mint.

I first heard about Google from my 1st grade teacher. He bought us 1984 Macintoshs (with his own money) to use since our school didn't see the point of buying new computers to teach first graders computer skills in 1999 (the irony is not lost on me...). When he saw me using Alta Vista one day in our school's computer lab, he stopped me mid-search, logged onto Google and the rest is history.

My teacher was kind of a hippie and had spent time on an Indian Reservation as a photographer. He was obsessed with astronomy and took us on field trips to the Griffith Observatory at night where attendance was extra credit. I don't know if this is representative of Google's initial user base but it wouldn't surprise me if it was.

TL;DR: It's almost impossible to tell in hindsight who the few users were especially when a company is ubiquitous. Needless to say, it seems to be the best way to succeed

endswapper2• 10 years ago

Using your example, the original opportunity for either Google or Amazon is equally broad, "everyone with a web-enabled personal computer at the time," or anyone who can read.

The focus for either is equally refined, search, or books, respectively.

PaulHoule• 10 years ago

Is Reddit really broad? It seems to cater to a certain sort of person.

For instance, my mother in law is into Oprah Winfrey and might get that itch scratched by something a bit like Reddit but that is appealing to her. Maybe Pinterest is closer to that.

valhalla2• 10 years ago

I agree. It wouldn't surprise me if Reddit's initial subreddits were narrow and reflected the interests of the founders and early employees – they created a proto-listserv for people like them and it grew from there

Ask HN: Breadth vs. Value in product design

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