Quantum product
I’m going to tell you a short story about science and about products. I love physics most of all and really believe that if you want to create a great product you should know some facts from its history. So let’s start.
When I come to interview, I’m always asked “What are your favourite products? Tell us about two for example.” I think “huh that’s easy”. First one is always something simple and made for everyday use, such as your doorbell or soccer ball. But another one is really strange for almost all recruiters. Because it’s quantum mechanics. Yeah, I really think that it is a product. And a really successful one. Just read about it and think more than one minute and you’ll see that:
- over 100 years people all over the world are interested in quantum mechanics
- it’s alive for now
- it made available such products as TV, computer networks etc etc
- even nonscience people are interested in it, how it works, what it is, and why it has been so hot topic for 100 years
- more over it made possible to dicover new particles, theories etc
- quantum theory is completely empirical (let me be honest, not completely)
- some facts are so strange that you can’t even imagine them and that’s why quantum mechanics is so exciting
- even Einstein didn’t believe in quantum mechanics but it changed the world
And now let’s translate this into a product terms:
- build product that lives long, it is really important that it will live more than 1 year
- try to do releases often because people hate to wait
- think about new opportunities that your product gives to users, build community around it and new ideas will come
- don’t be afraid of failures, failure is a lesson, learn and move forward
- make some cool things inside and inspire your users
- all great products are weird on the start, just don’t give up and continue to develop it
- think big, solve a really important problem (I love how Richard Hamming wrote about this)
When you start your own startup or build a new product think about this and do your best.
P.S. I love this joke about Einstein and his famous formula for energy. So do experiments and never give up, it’s a hard way.
