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@tankots claims Steve Jobs' quote "customers don't know what they want until you…
Brief
@tankots argues that misuse of Steve Jobs' line "customers don't know what they want until you show it to them" (Twitter/X, 2026-04-10) leads founders to ignore user feedback and fail. He says customers will describe problems, not solutions, and gives Wispr Flow as an example: users complained of email fatigue and procrastination, so the team built intent-aware AI dictation that solves the root problem.
Why it matters
@tankots claims Steve Jobs' quote "customers don't know what they want until you show it to them" has been used by founders to ignore feedback and has "accidentally destroyed dozens of startups" (Twitter/X, 2026-04-10).
Key details
- He argues the correct reading is that customers will state problems but not solutions, so founders should probe "why?" and explore alternative solutions that address root causes rather than building requested features.
- Concrete example: while building Wispr Flow, users reported being tired of responding to emails, procrastinating on writing, and feeling overwhelmed; the team built AI-powered dictation that removes the "translating" step to capture intent instead of a simple voice-note app.