Don't get carried away when users say "that's awesome": pain points vs. itch points

Originally published on X Articles.

There's one sentence that fools indie developers easier than anything:

"That idea is awesome."

It sounds great. It's usually worth nothing. Lots of people praising you doesn't mean they need what you're building. Maybe they're being polite, maybe the direction just sounds nice, maybe they're trying to encourage you.

You're talking a mile a minute and they don't have the heart to pour cold water, so they toss you a free one:

"Nice, that's pretty valuable."

And you're hooked.

You think you've validated the demand. What you actually validated is that the other person is decent.

A user's verbal "awesome" at most tells you your idea doesn't sound stupid.

It doesn't prove they have a need. It doesn't prove they'll migrate. It doesn't prove they'll use it daily. And it definitely doesn't prove they'll pay.

Verbal approval is the most damaging thing

In product research, nothing hurts like verbal approval.

• "Tell me when it's live."
• "I'd definitely use it once it's built."
• "This direction has real market."
• "A lot of people around me need this."

These all sound like demand. Most are just social lubricant. They make you comfortable and confident, fooling you into thinking you've touched a real pain point. Then you actually build it, send the link over, and the person can't even be bothered to sign up.

That's when you realize the "awesome" you heard was just another way of saying "good luck."

There's only one hard standard for demand

Look at what the user is willing to pay.

Money is the hardest signal. If they'll pay, the problem genuinely stings them.

Money isn't the only cost. Time, data migration, actively trying the product, referring a colleague, putting up with a rough version — those are costs too.

But if a user won't pay any cost and will only say nice things, chances are it's just an itch.

Pain points make people act. Itch points only make people polite.

Don't mistake your friends' encouragement for the market

A lot of indie developers start by talking their idea over with friends.

A friend says it's good, so you start building. A netizen says they want it, so you start building. Someone in the comments says "saving this" — and you think the market has arrived.

The real market lives in payment records, in scheduled trials, in users willing to show you their ugly current Excel setup, in users telling you how much money they waste on this problem every month, in users enduring bugs for a half-finished product.

• A person who'd route around a problem with ten workarounds — that's pain.
• A person who'd pay every month for an alternative — that's pain.
• A person who'd spend half an hour explaining their workflow — that's pain.
• A person who only says "nice idea" and nothing else — don't take it seriously.

There's a sharp observation in Standing in the Nail:

Judging whether users accept a product, you can't just listen to whether they say "good" or "bad" — you have to see what they're willing to pay for it. They can pay money, pay time, pay attention, pay migration costs, pay organizational authorization, or pay psychological safety.

Because indie developers don't have the trial-and-error budget of big companies.

You can't burn six months on "everyone says it's good." You need to know early whether this need is actually a business.

Ask more grounded questions

Don't ask: "What do you think of this product?"

That question is far too easy to answer with fluff.

Ask:

• "How are you solving this problem right now?"
• "Have you ever paid money for this problem?"
• "Would you pay an early-bird price right now?"
• "Would you screenshot your current workflow for me?"
• "If I build an ugly MVP, will you try it next week?"

Then watch what they do, not what they say.

People in real pain give you details. They talk about their current frustrations, alternatives, budget, what they've tried, why it annoys them.

Fake pain only gives you opinions. They say "the direction is good" and go back to scrolling their phone.

Opinions are worthless. Behavior is worth something. Paying is worth the most.

Plenty of products fail for one root reason: mistaking "someone praised it" for "someone bought it."

Those two are very far apart. People who praise you are consuming your expression. People who buy are solving their own problem.

You can listen to praise — but don't make decisions with it.

You can collect positive feedback — but don't count it as orders.

You can believe in the direction — but always come back to one question:

What is this person willing to pay for it?

"Looks valuable" often means nobody's in a hurry to buy

The thing indie developers should fear most is building products that "look valuable."

If it looks valuable, everyone understands it, everyone can say something nice — and nobody's in a hurry to buy.

Truly good early products usually aren't that grand. It might solve one small thing for a tiny group of people, but that small thing is annoying enough, frequent enough, and expensive enough. Show it to them and they won't say "nice direction" — they'll ask directly:

How much?

When can I use it?

Can I try it today?

That's the good signal.

User says awesome — don't get carried away.

Make them pay. Make them try it. Make them migrate. Make them pay some real cost.

Once the cost shows up, the demand reveals itself.

And the difference between pain and itch becomes obvious.

Reference: Standing in the Nail