Trying to decide if @paulg’s “Make something people want” and Steve Jobs’ “People don’t know what they want until you show them” are competing philosophies or two sides of the same coin.
If you add "when they see it" to the end, the apparent conflict goes away.
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Meredith. The tie that binds both statements is the question...“does your technology solve an actual problem that people have?”
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Steven. I agree, but Jobs’ remark implies people don’t always know that their current problems are indeed problems. Has to do with what seems possible to the average person—taxis, hotels, blockbuster, 5 day shipping, etc didn’t seem like problems because they did the job fine.
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I think they combine like Kipling’s maxim to “trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too.”
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Sometimes when people are familiar enough with the problem they can identify what a good solution looks like; other times, the problem is so ingrained or accepted as unsolvable/“the only way” that only when people see the solution do they realize how much better things could be.
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The first time I tried driving someone's Tesla I had this experience. Afterward I was suddenly aware that my car rumbled and vibrated because of the engine, that when I backed up with the window open, exhaust would blow in, etc.
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Perhaps "make something people will want" would be a more accurate motto for YC.
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two phrases that have similar meanings that resolve this conflict: 1) latent desires 2) hidden friction Vast majority of people cannot spot these two things.
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