| You're exactly right, but I think the real world is even more more nuanced than that (particularly when it comes to software). Some markets just don't exist, period. Think nail polish for pet turtles. It's easy to figure this out, because every pet turtle owner tells you "I wouldn't buy this". There's no two ways about it. You know exactly where you stand. This is infinitely better than the alternative, which is selling a product that kind-of fits, to a market that kind-of exists. You've identified a problem, everyone is saying "great idea, love the design, etc" - but hardly anyone's buying. They all stall, or come up with excuses as to why they can't buy, even though they say the product is great. Both are cases of "no market demand", but the former is an infinitely better place to be. You know exactly where you stand and what needs to be done - scrap everything and start over. The latter is a very dangerous place to be. It's easy to give yourself any number of options - "maybe we just need a (UI redesign|new website|better marketing materials)".
But fundamentally, the product is flawed. You haven't really found a market need. Odds are you've identified a market want. This is something that's nice for people to have (and that they might be happy to use). But it's not compelling enough to reach into your pocket and pay for. This is an acute problem in software because (a) we tend to be builders at heart, so we favour making things over identifying customer needs. (b) it's relatively cheap to build something. Other industries have significantly higher barriers to entry, meaning you (usually) need to secure customers and funding before the production/manufacturing phase. |