Why should they care? I had some entrepreneurs show me a project they’re working on. It’s a finance application for small businesses. One of the founders is an accountant who gets questions constantly, so he figured he’d create an app to solve that problem.

The problem is that he’s enamored with his idea and hasn’t done the work of figuring out whether small business owners will care. He came to me to see how AI could be used. He said, “If I use AI, people will love it!” I told him straight up: yes, it can be applied. But that’s not the point.

That’s not the reason small business owners should care. The technology should serve a purpose.

The Disneyland Lesson

Last weekend, I went to Disneyland and rode on The Rise of the Resistance. It was magical. I felt like I was truly in the Star Wars universe, being captured by the First Order and then rescued by the Resistance.

Nowhere during the experience do they tell you, “We use projection mapping, trackless cars that navigate using RFID, animatronics, and other sophisticated stuff. We spent over a billion dollars on this ride!” They don’t tell you this stuff to make you care.

The truth is, as customers, we don’t care what technologies you use or if you use AI. Do you want to know what we care about?

Will this eliminate my pain? Will this inspire me? Will this improve/make me better? Will this wow me? Will this excite me?

Start With the Pain

Before you write a single line of code or design a single screen, ask yourself: “What specific pain am I solving?” Not in vague terms, but in concrete, day-to-day reality.

For my entrepreneur friend, instead of saying, “I’m building a finance app for small businesses,” he should say, “I’m solving the problem of small business owners staying up at 2 AM worrying about cash flow because they can’t easily forecast their finances.”

That’s specific. That’s painful. That’s something people will pay to solve.

The “So What?” Test

Every feature, every button, every aspect of your product should pass the “So what?” test:

• “Our app uses machine learning” — So what?
• “We’ve integrated with five different APIs” — So what?
• “We use blockchain technology” — So what?

Unless you can translate these technical achievements into direct customer benefits, they’re just expensive distractions.

Find Your WOW Factor

The WOW factor isn’t about technology, it’s about transformation. It’s the moment when someone using your product realizes their life just got significantly better.

For Uber, it wasn’t the GPS technology or the payment processing; it was watching a car actually come to pick you up in real time without having to call anyone or wave desperately on a street corner.

For Slack, it wasn’t the sophisticated message syncing or integrations; it was the dramatic reduction in internal emails and the feeling of being connected to your team.

Do The Research

If you’re developing a product, here’s your homework:

1. Talk to at least 20 potential customers
2. Ask them to describe their most significant challenges related to your problem space
3. Listen for emotional language; that’s where the real pain is
4. Ask them what they’re currently doing to solve this problem
5. Find out what they would consider a “magic solution.”

Only then should you start thinking about what to build and what technology to use.

Technology Serves, It Doesn’t Lead

Technologies like AI, blockchain, VR, or whatever the latest buzz is are tools, not value propositions. They’re the means, not the end.

Disney doesn’t start by saying, “Let’s use projection mapping!” They ask, “How can we make guests feel like they’re truly in a Star Wars battle?” The technology serves the experience, not the other way around.

Bottom Line: People don’t buy products because of the technology inside them. They buy products because those products make their lives better in some meaningful way. So, before you fall in love with your technology stack or brilliant idea, fall in love with your customers’ problems instead. Become obsessed with solving those problems in the most effective way possible. Because at the end of the day, that’s the only thing that will make them care.

Remember, people don’t buy products and services. They buy better versions of themselves.