Make Kale, not Donuts

Donuts are delicious, we love them. Just look at this one here. Oh come to me, you sugary baby.

Donuts hurt us in the long run.

Donuts are what people want, but should not want.

Most social networks are largely donuts. They are addictive, distracting, and are shown to make us unhappy and unproductive in the long run.

Buzzfeed listicles, McDonalds, addictive games, even Netflix are other examples of donuts.

In many cases, you need to peel many layers to reveal the inherent Donut-ness of a product. For example, on the surface it seems like Groupon is a great marketing channel for businesses to attract customers (it still is for a subset). It hurts businesses where it reduces brand value and only attracts deal-seekers and not the recurring customer relationships.

Kale is repulsive. Ugh. Just go back to the ground, you leafy abomination.

Kale is great for us.

Kale is what people should want, but don’t want.

Coursera (and other MOOCs) is Kale. Learning for free, from the best universities, is undeniably good for you. But 90% of users dropout of online courses.

Books, mediation apps, gym classes are are other examples of Kale.

Kale, also, isn’t always apparent. Entrepreneurs have a tendency to assume that they are addressing a desirable need (say, better health), ignoring the fact that people don’t have the stomach to do what it takes (exercise). I didn’t realize until recently that my app, Nuggets, that helps you remember everything you learn, is also Kale. Earlier, I had simplistically assumed everyone would want it because everyone wants to learn and become smarter.

Kale shop vs Donut shop

Donut shop is an easy, lucrative choice for entrepreneurs to gain quick traction, funding, and revenue. People are craving Donuts. People have limited will power and are wired for instant gratification (Donuts!).

Kale shop is a tough proposition. While there are a few die-hard fans of Kale, most people have to be convinced that Kale is good for them. They have to then be motivated to stick to them. They are constantly lured by the Donut shops or by friends eating Donuts. The App store, for instance, is brutal to Kale apps. Nearly all of the top grossing apps are Donuts — games.

When you make and sell Donuts, you are hurting your customers. Donuts can make you rich, quickly and relatively easily. True, eating a Donut every once in a while is not bad. But let’s admit it, if you are a Donut shop, you are trying your best to feed as many people as many donuts as you can.

When you make and sell Kale, you make your customers’ lives better. It will be hard, it will take time, you are more likely to fail. But on the flip side, you will make lives better, if you succeed. Personally, from my Nuggets experience, that has kept me motivated through the ups and downs of building a product. Also, there are fewer Kale shops to compete with.

Sprinkle some Donut in the Kale (or Kale Chips, maybe)

So the answer isn’t to just try and fail at building a Kale shop (and obviously not to cop out and sell Donuts).

Know and accept that you are selling Kale; that your product isn’t the most desired product for your user, even though it’s good for them in the long run; and that you need to go the extra mile to educate them and keep them motivated.

Tesla did that. Electric cars used to be Kale: expensive, slow, short mileage, but good for the world in the long run. Tesla built a sexy, sportsy electric car. Khan Academy keeps their students motivated by using fun badges. Soul Cycle has made workouts joyful and addictive by turning them into a cardio party. RunKeeper gives your rewards you with gifts for breaking personal running records.

Don’t simply build what customers want. Build what customers should want.

Build what is genuinely good for your customers.

Make Kale, not Donuts.

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