Failure isn’t usually about the build

It’s tempting to assume failed products fail because of bad execution. The code wasn’t good enough. The design wasn’t slick enough. The launch wasn’t loud enough. Something downstream went wrong.

Sometimes that’s true. But more often, the real cause is much earlier — long before a single line of code gets written.

Most product ideas don’t fail at launch. They fail at the assumption stage. The problem is misjudged. The audience isn’t quite right. The solution doesn’t fit. The market isn’t ready. The economics don’t add up.

By the time you’re shipping, the outcome is mostly already decided.

That’s both a frustrating and a freeing realisation. Frustrating because you can do everything else well and still end up in the wrong place. Freeing because the most impo...

Why most product ideas fail before you even start building