After 500 Rejections, I Started Building Products That People Actually Use
After 500 rejections and years of failed infrastructure projects in crypto, the author shifted focus to building consumer-facing products that people actually use and pay for. Key lessons from transitioning to Solana and launching a consumer app include:
Target younger users (ages 13-21) who are more open to adopting new technologies and sharing them socially.
Design products that are inherently shareable to reduce marketing costs, as organic virality is critical in a low-trust, high-cost acquisition environment.
Prioritize rapid user feedback—fix bugs within hours and implement requested features in days to build trust and habit formation.
Choose simple, memorable app names to ease word-of-mouth sharing.
Engage users directly through cold DMs (despite low reply rates) to gather honest feedback and build early supporter communities.
Iterate quickly—observe user behavior rather than relying solely on feedback, and be willing to pivot radically.
Simplify onboarding and avoid assumptions about user knowledge; make the product intuitive within seconds.
Ultimately, speed, user-centricity, and distribution matter more than technical perfection in consumer crypto.
marsbit12/30 06:40
