The technology is the easy part

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Of course, this doesn't mean the technology is easy.  It's just that when it comes to building a product, giving it a great design, marketing it, getting people's attention, and inspiring them to part with their money for what you've made...... the technology is the easy part.

I think about this whenever people ask me whether I think a product they want me to build could be successful.  Indeed, one person asked me how long I thought it would be until he could receive the return on his investment should I build out his product.

The problem with that question is that it's relative, and the answer depends on so many factors beyond the technology that it's impossible to answer.  The only way to respond is with a series of other questions:

How many people read your blog?  How many other products do you have that people use and love?  How many people do you have on a mailing list?  How many press relationships do you have?  How many investors do you know?  And on and on and on.

The mistake people often make (I've made this mistake too) is that they assume the technology is the hard part, and that if they could only get their product built, if they could only find the right engineer, that everything else would take care of itself.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

It's true that sometimes you do need to build something in order to sell it.  Just know that of all the things you'll need to do to be successful - the technology is the easy part.