---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: the first product in a startup, your…"
description: "\"“the first product in a startup, your initial purpose in meeting customers is not to gather feature requests so you can change the product; it is to fi..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db4/steven-gary-blank-15847_entrepreneurship_the-first-product-in-a-startup-your-init_1696179.jpg"
---

#  the first product in a startup, your initial purpose in…

![“the first product in a startup, your initial purpose in meeting customers is not to gather feature requests so you can change the product; it is to find customers for the product you are already building.” quote by Steven Gary Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db4/steven-gary-blank-15847_entrepreneurship_the-first-product-in-a-startup-your-init_1696179.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db4/steven-gary-blank-15847_entrepreneurship_the-first-product-in-a-startup-your-init_1696179.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db4/steven-gary-blank-15847_entrepreneurship_the-first-product-in-a-startup-your-init_1696179.jpg)

> ““the first product in a startup, your initial purpose in meeting customers is not to gather feature requests so you can change the product; it is to find customers for the product you are already building.””

[Steven Gary Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-gary-blank/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The early goal is to validate market demand by finding buyers for the existing product, not to collect feature ideas for redesign.

**In simple terms:** Find customers for what you have, not ideas for what you could make.

Key Takeaway

Focus on market validation before product changes.

Themes

entrepreneurship customer discovery product-market fit

Mood

determined pragmatic

Type

strategic instructional

When to use this quote

- pitch meetings
- early sales
- beta testing
- investor demos

Key Concepts

validation market demand customer acquisition

Questions to Reflect On

- Are you listening for market signals or just feature ideas?
- How will you measure true demand?

A Different Perspective

If customers reject the current product, you may need to pivot, not just find more buyers.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [Entrepreneurship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entrepreneurship/) [Initial Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/initial-purpose-1105342/) [Product Building](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/product-building-1105343/) [Product Customers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/product-customers-551869/) [Product Startup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/product-startup-1105341/) [Startup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/startup/)

## Related quotes

> [The original entrepreneur may initiate the initial purpose, but, in a sense, like a parent that has children, the children have their own destiny,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mackey/the-original-entrepreneur-may-initiate-the-initial-purpose-but-in-a/)

[John Mackey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mackey/)

> [Launching a successful product or startup has little to do with luck. Any business that gains traction on the market is the result of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fabrizio-moreira/launching-a-successful-product-or-startup-has-little-to-do-with-luck/)

[Fabrizio Moreira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fabrizio-moreira/)

> [I think a lot of what we want to do with both the product we're building and the brand is help people make better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-sharp/i-think-a-lot-of-what-we-want-to-do-with-both-the-product-we-re/)

[Evan Sharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-sharp/)

> [It may be easier than ever to start a product, but building a company is just as hard as its ever been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lacy/it-may-be-easier-than-ever-to-start-a-product-but-building-a-company/)

[Sarah Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lacy/)

> [First, you must have entrepreneurs who fully grasp their customers. They understand their product so well because they themselves are customers. The second thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-sherman/first-you-must-have-entrepreneurs-who-fully-grasp-their-customers/)

[Craig Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-sherman/)

> [The bottom line is a by-product of taking care of your main product - your customers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-kaufman/the-bottom-line-is-a-by-product-of-taking-care-of-your-main-product/)

[Ron Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-kaufman/)

> [“If we don't have an effective plan for the movement of our product, our customers will most certainly move it for us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-hodge/if-we-don-t-have-an-effective-plan-for-the-movement-of-our-product/)

[Jay Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-hodge/)

> [ I don't think anyone has done a \[tablet\] product that I see customers wanting. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/i-don-t-think-anyone-has-done-a-tablet-product-that-i-see-customers/)

[Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/)

> [There were business challenges, a lot of imitators sprung up, but we built a product that customers love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritesh-agarwal/there-were-business-challenges-a-lot-of-imitators-sprung-up-but-we/)

[Ritesh Agarwal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritesh-agarwal/)

> [“As you'll soon see, coming up with winning products is never easy. We need a product that our customers love, yet also works for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marty-cagan/as-you-ll-soon-see-coming-up-with-winning-products-is-never-easy-we/)

[Marty Cagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marty-cagan/)

> [Not being in tune with your customers is like living in an alternate reality; the way you think your customers feel about your product…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/not-being-in-tune-with-your-customers-is-like-living-in-an-alternate/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I almost never invest in ideas or plans, so you'll need to have a company and at least a product, if not customers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-rose/i-almost-never-invest-in-ideas-or-plans-so-you-ll-need-to-have-a/)

[David S. Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-rose/)

> [Stalking is an underrated startup strategy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-rottenberg/stalking-is-an-underrated-startup-strategy/)

[Linda Rottenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-rottenberg/)

> [“So Mack got kind of a late start in the startup world—he founded TakeOff at the ripe old age of twenty-five”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doree-shafrir/so-mack-got-kind-of-a-late-start-in-the-startup-world-he-founded/)

[Doree Shafrir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doree-shafrir/)

> [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## More by Steven Gary Blank

> [“Therefore, alpha and beta testing are Product Development functions that belong to engineering. They are about validating the product technically, not the market.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-gary-blank/therefore-alpha-and-beta-testing-are-product-development-functions/)

[Steven Gary Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-gary-blank/)

> [“In every company a reason can be found not to do anything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-gary-blank/in-every-company-a-reason-can-be-found-not-to-do-anything/)

[Steven Gary Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-gary-blank/)

> [“one approach to defining the minimum features set is to ask, “What is the smallest or least complicated problem the customer will pay us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-gary-blank/one-approach-to-defining-the-minimum-features-set-is-to-ask-what-is/)

[Steven Gary Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-gary-blank/)

> [“If they agree with you about the problems, get them to explain why they think it is important to solve them”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-gary-blank/if-they-agree-with-you-about-the-problems-get-them-to-explain-why/)

[Steven Gary Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-gary-blank/)

> [“When one company owns over 80 percent share (think Microsoft), that player is the owner of the market and a monopolist. The only possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-gary-blank/when-one-company-owns-over-80-percent-share-think-microsoft-that/)

[Steven Gary Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-gary-blank/)

> [“Positioning your product against the slew of existing competitors is accomplished by adroitly picking the correct product features where you are better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-gary-blank/positioning-your-product-against-the-slew-of-existing-competitors-is/)

[Steven Gary Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-gary-blank/)

> [“The Customer Development model consists of four well-defined steps: Customer Discovery, Customer Validation, Customer Creation, and Company Building.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-gary-blank/the-customer-development-model-consists-of-four-well-defined-steps/)

[Steven Gary Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-gary-blank/)

> [“Rule No. 4: Make Continuous Iterations and Pivots”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-gary-blank/rule-no-4-make-continuous-iterations-and-pivots/)

[Steven Gary Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-gary-blank/)

> [“Many products are too hard to understand without a demo. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a demonstration is probably worth a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-gary-blank/many-products-are-too-hard-to-understand-without-a-demo-if-a-picture/)

[Steven Gary Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-gary-blank/)

> [“One of the insidious traps of a startup is promising different customers a set of unique extensions or modifications. While it is sometimes essential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-gary-blank/one-of-the-insidious-traps-of-a-startup-is-promising-different/)

[Steven Gary Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-gary-blank/)

> [“Intellect without will is worthless, will without intellect is dangerous. — Sun Tzu,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-gary-blank/intellect-without-will-is-worthless-will-without-intellect-is/)

[Steven Gary Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-gary-blank/)

> [“The reality is that testing an unfinished product for Engineering and testing a customer’s willingness to buy an unfinished product are separate, unrelated functions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-gary-blank/the-reality-is-that-testing-an-unfinished-product-for-engineering-and/)

[Steven Gary Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-gary-blank/)

> [“Rule No. 5: No Business Plan Survives First Contact with Customers So Use a Business Model Canvas”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-gary-blank/rule-no-5-no-business-plan-survives-first-contact-with-customers-so/)

[Steven Gary Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-gary-blank/)

> [“Rule No. 2: Pair Customer Development with Agile Development Customer Development is useless unless the product development organization can iterate the product with speed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-gary-blank/rule-no-2-pair-customer-development-with-agile-development-customer/)

[Steven Gary Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-gary-blank/)

> [“Ironically, startups were often crippled by the very methodology they traditionally used to build new products.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-gary-blank/ironically-startups-were-often-crippled-by-the-very-methodology-they/)

[Steven Gary Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-gary-blank/)

[Explore all 41 Steven Gary Blank quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-gary-blank/)

## More Customer quotes

> [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Amongst the financial Twitterati, the term 'muppets' has come to describe any client used and abused by some financial predator. I've adopted the term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/amongst-the-financial-twitterati-the-term-muppets-has-come-to/)

[Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/)

> [Many early-stage entrepreneurs make one simple mistake: Describing this 'big picture' in vague concepts and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-nagaraj/many-early-stage-entrepreneurs-make-one-simple-mistake-describing/)

[Sunil Nagaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-nagaraj/)

> [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

> [Don't think OF the market. Think AS the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-fishman/don-t-think-of-the-market-think-as-the-market/)

[Michael Fishman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-fishman/)

> [If Wall Street crashes, does Main Street follow? Not necessarily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bernanke/if-wall-street-crashes-does-main-street-follow-not-necessarily/)

[Ben Bernanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bernanke/)

> [The exact details of how you practice value investing will vary investor to investor, but the fundamental principle of scouring the world, looking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-tilson/the-exact-details-of-how-you-practice-value-investing-will-vary/)

[Whitney Tilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-tilson/)

> [The best way to hold customers is to constantly figure out how to give them more for less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kotler/the-best-way-to-hold-customers-is-to-constantly-figure-out-how-to/)

[Philip Kotler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kotler/)

> [Perhaps the most important reason to be skeptical of government inflation numbers is that the government, like a fox campaigning to guard a hen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/perhaps-the-most-important-reason-to-be-skeptical-of-government/)

[Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/)

> [When the dollar collapses, it's not doing it in a vacuum. If the dollar loses value, it's doing so relative to some other currency.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/when-the-dollar-collapses-it-s-not-doing-it-in-a-vacuum-if-the-dollar/)

[Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/)

> [Corporations invest in sophisticated CRM, or Customer Relationship Management, programs to effectively oversee their relationship with their customers at every point during the buying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-ostrofsky/corporations-invest-in-sophisticated-crm-or-customer-relationship/)

[Marc Ostrofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-ostrofsky/)

> [I believe confusion is good. Worldwide market leaders gain when there is confusion in the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subhash-chandra/i-believe-confusion-is-good-worldwide-market-leaders-gain-when-there/)

[Subhash Chandra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subhash-chandra/)

> [Damn inflation, full speed ahead,' Greenspan has said in both action and word. I think an investor should believe him and invest accordingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gross/damn-inflation-full-speed-ahead-greenspan-has-said-in-both-action-and/)

[Bill Gross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gross/)

> [“When companies get big, they devote most of their care and feeding to the business that got them big. This is as it should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schmidt/when-companies-get-big-they-devote-most-of-their-care-and-feeding-to/)

[Eric Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schmidt/)

> [“Salesmanship is usually the art of making it the prospect’s problem, the salesperson’s need or desire to earn money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/salesmanship-is-usually-the-art-of-making-it-the-prospect-s-problem/)

[Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/)

[Browse all 9,257 Customer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“the first product in a startup, your initial purpose in meeting customers is not to gather feature requests so you can change the product; it is to find customers for the product you are already building.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Steven Gary Blank"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-gary-blank/the-first-product-in-a-startup-your-initial-purpose-in-meeting/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Customer"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-gary-blank/the-first-product-in-a-startup-your-initial-purpose-in-meeting/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db4/steven-gary-blank-15847_entrepreneurship_the-first-product-in-a-startup-your-init_1696179.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db4/steven-gary-blank-15847_entrepreneurship_the-first-product-in-a-startup-your-init_1696179.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db4/steven-gary-blank-15847_entrepreneurship_the-first-product-in-a-startup-your-init_1696179.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“the first product in a startup, your initial purpose in meeting customers is not to gather feature requests…” — Steven Gary Blank",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Steven Gary Blank",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-gary-blank/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“the first product in a startup,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-gary-blank/the-first-product-in-a-startup-your-initial-purpose-in-meeting/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-gary-blank/the-first-product-in-a-startup-your-initial-purpose-in-meeting/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```