Altar.io

A common trap founders fall into? Treating their MVP like a pitch deck with code. It looks great in a demo, maybe even wins over an investor. But when real users try it, they never come back. That’s because the job of an MVP isn’t to impress. Its real job is to prove one repeatable way you can deliver value, your Minimum Viable Experience. It’s not about scope. It’s about dependability. Can users rely on your product for one critical task, week after week, without being reminded? The mistake many founders make is trying to do too much at once. Instead, start by identifying the single workflow that truly matters to your user. Strip it down to its essentials, build it so it actually works in the wild, and watch if people return to it naturally. If they do, you’ve earned the right to expand. If they don’t, no amount of extra features will save you. So here’s the real question to ask before writing a single line of code: what’s the one task my product needs to make effortless and habit-forming? And if you’ve already built an MVP, when did you know you’d truly proven value?

The fastest way to waste time and capital is to build an AI product just because “it’s possible.” Founders who succeed start with a brutally honest filter: would anyone care if this product didn’t use AI? If you strip away the tech, is there still a compelling reason for it to exist? The best validation is to look for pains that are expensive, frequent, and already being solved manually. If people are finding workarounds, even messy ones, that’s proof the problem matters. Without that, all AI gives you is an expensive gimmick in search of a market. Talk to your potential users. Ask them about their most time-consuming or frustrating workflows and what they currently do to fix them. Don’t mention AI, just listen for problems worth solving. #ai #startup #product #aiproduct #startupadvice

The hype around AI coding isn’t the real problem for founders. The gap lies in knowing where AI genuinely accelerates development, and where it quietly adds cost, complexity, and risk. We’ve seen teams move faster with AI, not by doing more with it, but by being ruthless about what they still keep human-led. That’s the discipline that turns AI from a novelty into a competitive advantage. Claudio’s latest piece breaks down how to make that shift.

One thing we’ve seen time and again working with founders: building an AI MVP isn’t just about speed, it’s about getting the right things right from day one. The lessons Jamie shares here echo what our product teams see in the field, from misaligned problem–solution fit to skipping early validation because “the tech is cool.” If you’re exploring an AI product, this is a timely reminder to slow down, stress-test your assumptions, and design for real-world use.

Startups don’t die because the tech was bad. They die because they solved the wrong problem. And by the time they realise it, the runway’s gone. If you want to avoid that, don’t start with your feature list. Start with your users’ pain. Talk to real potential customers. Not friends. Not investors. The people who would actually pay for your solution. Ask questions like “What’s the hardest part of [doing X]?” or “Tell me about the last time you tried to fix this.” Then go deeper with the Jobs-to-Be-Done (JTBD) framework. It’s not about “Who is the user?” It’s about “What progress are they trying to make?” Think about the functional jobs (what they need to get done), the emotional jobs (how they want to feel), and the social jobs (how they want to be perceived). Map out how they currently solve the problem, spot the moments of friction, and connect those directly to your product’s value proposition. Here’s why it matters: A head of operations at a B2B SaaS company doesn’t want another dashboard. They want to track KPIs in real time so they can report with confidence, make faster decisions, and avoid costly bottlenecks. That’s the difference between building a "nice-to-have" and creating a painkiller they can’t work without.

Last month, our product leaders, CEO Daniel and Senior Director of Product Ricardo, returned to Unicorn Factory Lisboa to run a hands-on session with six ambitious scaleups. What made this one different? It wasn’t just the frameworks (though the Product Heart Statement definitely earned its place again). It was the people. The energy. The candid conversations that helped cut through assumptions and turn uncertainty into clarity. What stood out most? The way alignment sparked momentum. You’ll hear it in their voices. Big thanks again to Unicorn Factory for having us, and to every founder who showed up open, curious, and ready to challenge their thinking. And a special shoutout to Jaime and Rui for sharing their experience on camera. Check out the video below for a behind-the-scenes look at the day. If you’ve ever struggled to articulate your product vision, we’d love to hear how you approached it.

Ricardo, our Senior Director of Product, has been deep in the trenches helping teams make sense of AI in their product workflows. This post cuts through the noise. It’s not about flashy tools or overnight transformation. It’s about what it really takes to use AI meaningfully, and why the first step often isn’t speed, but systems. If you’re navigating how to bring AI into your discovery, research, or decision-making processes, Ricardo’s reflections are worth your time. Check out his post below.

Big teams. Big budgets. Big ambitions. But still struggling to ship real innovation. In a recent workshop with the digital leadership team of a $50B+ industrial giant, Rui (our CMO & Partner) saw this first-hand. The problem wasn’t a lack of ideas. It was the same thing holding back most innovation teams: unclear definitions of value, too many disconnected pilots, and a habit of building for internal approval instead of user behaviour. Rui just published a deep dive into what happened during that session and what your enterprise product team can steal from it. Inside: – Why your MVP probably isn’t an MVP – How to avoid “platform paralysis” and “innovation theatre” – The real reason most transformation efforts stall If you’re building digital products inside a large org and want to move faster, without breaking the system, this one’s worth your time. 👉 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/d2Bi_eqf

Building a successful product isn’t about guessing what users want. It’s about asking. Startups that incorporate user feedback into their development process are 2.6 times more likely to succeed. Not because they’re smarter, but because they’re closer to the truth. If you’re at the idea or MVP stage, this is the move: – Identify 10 to 15 potential users aligned with your value proposition – Ask open-ended questions about their workflows, frustrations, and workarounds – Look for patterns, not quotes – Let the answers shape what you build next It’s not just about validation. It’s about building something people actually need.

“You can automate the tactics. But it's still very hard to fake the care.” Sharp insight from our CMO, Rui. In a world where AI levels the playing field, empathy is the real edge. Founders who feel the user's pain build better products. Full stop.👇