[JamesBarney]

Building a proof of concept is an incredibly expensive way to figure out what clients want. And many times you find out you're so far off that none of the project is reusable.

Also plenty of clients will take meeting without an proof of concept. And this is especially true when you have a really good idea.

[rognjen]

I've found the opposite to be true -- easier to get a meeting if you have something to show even with a mediocre idea.

[JamesBarney]

In my experience it didn't make a huge difference. More than half the time the individual didn't even want to see it. Just wanted to talk about how it would improve their business.

[jlelonm]

What is the better way to figure out what clients want? Conversations?

[JamesBarney]

Yeah it takes a lot less time to have a conversation than to build an app.

Makings the cold calls and cold emails felt a lot easier with an app built but at least in my experience didn't make a big difference in response rate.

[takanori]

The best way is to have that problem yourself while working in at an ideal customer.