The most beautiful products are created by those that use the product themselves. They built it because they wanted it. Every decision is based on their good taste.

They are their target customer.

Of course, that’s a luxury. Most of us aren’t our target customer. As entrepreneurs go in search of problems to solve, and companies look for growth, that isn't always possible. And so, we talk to customers to deeply understand their needs. We design for them, to grow our business.

I've seen product launches flop when we assume we know what customers want, and we aren't our target customer. Vague phrases like "customers want to X" creep into our decision making, without being able to pinpoint specific customers.

And I've seen product launches fly when we are our target customer and intrinsically make product decision based on our own, direct, experiences.

There is still a trap even if we have the beauty of being our target customer. It doesn't remove the need for us to understand what other solutions are out there. We can fall into the trap of building something that already exists, because we didn't thoroughly search for it. Or it offers 99% of what we need, but not that final 1%, and we fool ourselves into thinking we can't live without that final 1%.

I've built successful products both where I'm the target customer, and when I am not. The key isn’t whether you’re the customer or not, it’s knowing which one you are, and acting accordingly.