How to Build User-Friendly Products

Founders, are you building product correctly? As founders, it’s easy to get pulled into thinking about how our products might look in a slick promotional video, imagining all the ways they could "wow" an audience. But here’s the reality: sustainable success is rooted in solving real problems, not just creating marketable moments. A flashy demo might generate short-term buzz, but what keeps users coming back is a product that fits their lworkflows and goals. If we’re building for the customer, our focus has to shift from "How will this feature look?" to "How will this feature help?" Here are a few actionable steps for founders to make sure their product development stays grounded in customer value: 1. Talk to Your Users Regularly: This sounds obvious, but it’s surprising how often it’s overlooked. Get into the habit of scheduling regular conversations with both loyal customers and recent adopters. Ask open-ended questions that let you uncover not just what users want but why they want it. 2. Focus on Solving Pain Points, Not Adding Bells and Whistles: It’s tempting to add features because they seem cool or have a high "wow factor" in demos. But before committing, ask yourself: does this feature directly address a specific pain point? Is it making the product better or just flashier? 3. Design with Iteration in Mind: Building a product isn’t about getting it perfect the first time; it’s about continual improvement. Make sure your team has room to iterate, experiment, and adjust based on feedback—don’t lock them into something just because it looked good in a marketing draft. 4. Measure Success Through Customer Retention, Not Just Acquisition: A flashy feature may attract first-time users, but a product that truly solves problems will keep them coming back. Focus your KPIs and metrics on retention and user satisfaction, not just on the top of the funnel. 5. Think Like Your User, Not Just Like a Founder: It’s easy to fall in love with your own ideas, but users ultimately decide whether your product thrives. Ground yourself in their perspective: what’s essential to them, what frustrates them, and how your product can make a meaningful difference. At the end of the day, the best marketing doesn’t come from a video—it comes from a product that meets needs so well that users feel compelled to share it. Build for impact, not for optics.

How to win users and delight people in 2025... Planning ahead? This is for you. 1. Listen and learn: Dive deep into user feedback. Not just the what, but the why. What's driving their needs? Understand their pain points and what makes them tick. 2. Empathize: Put yourself in your users' shoes. Really feel their frustrations and aspirations. This isn't just about building a product; it's about solving real problems for real people. 3. Iterate fast: Move quickly and break things? Maybe. But definitely iterate fast. Get that MVP out there, gather feedback, and refine. Your users will appreciate seeing their input shape the product. 4. Focus on UX: A delightful user experience isn't just a nice-to-have; it's a must-have. Make your product intuitive, engaging, and, above all, easy to use. 5. Personalize: One size doesn't fit all. Tailor the experience to individual users as much as possible. Make them feel like the product is built just for them. 6. Educate: Sometimes, users don't know what they want until you show them. Educate them about your product's potential, and how it can make their lives easier or their work more effective. But never try to replace good UX with instructions! Remember: users don't read. 7. Support: Be there when your users need you. Stellar customer support can turn a frustrated user into a loyal advocate. 8. Build community: Foster a community around your product. When users feel part of a tribe, they're more likely to stick around and become evangelists. 9. Surprise and delight: Go beyond expectations. Little surprises, like unexpected features or thoughtful gestures, can turn ordinary users into passionate fans. 10. Keep evolving: The market and user needs are always changing. Keep your product and your approach fresh to stay ahead of the game.

Pretty isn’t enough. Products need principles. UX design isn’t about following trends or adding shiny features—it’s about building experiences that actually work for people. Here are the 4 principles I always come back to: 🔸 Understand → Get close to your users. Build personas, map journeys, run interviews. Without empathy, you’re just guessing. 🔸 Ideate → Creativity with direction. Brainstorm, sketch, and wireframe—but always anchor ideas to real user needs. 🔸 Test → Assumptions don’t scale. Surveys, usability tests, A/B tests—these validate if the solution solves the problem. 🔸 Implement → Execution is everything. From accessibility to onboarding to UI polish—this is where trust is built (or lost). When you miss one of these steps, you feel it. When you nail all four, the experience feels natural, seamless, and human. That’s what separates products people tolerate… from products people love. Which principle do you think teams overlook the most—and why? #UXDesign #UIDesign #ProductDesign #DesignThinking #UserExperience

The UX Workflow 𝘐𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳. It’s a 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗽 Many people think UX design starts with wireframes and ends with UI screens. In reality, strong user experiences are built through a 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 and 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵-𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄. – 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 🔍 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗲 – 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 This stage focuses on learning the problem deeply. ✔️ Stakeholder Interviews – Align business goals expectations and success metrics ✔️ User Interviews – Understand real user behaviour pain points and motivations ✔️ Field Studies – Observe how users interact with products in real environments Outcome: Clear problem definition and validated insights 🎨 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 – 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 Once the research is clear, solution building begins. ✔️ User Journey Mapping – Visualize user emotions actions and touchpoints ✔️ User Stories – Translate needs into actionable design requirements ✔️ Affinity Mapping – Organize research insights into patterns ✔️ User Flow Creation – Define how users move across the product Outcome: Structured experience blueprint ready for visualization 🧪 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 – 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 Design without testing is guessing. ✔️ Usability Testing – Identify friction and improve usability ✔️ Analytics – Track behaviour and performance metrics ✔️ Surveys – Collect qualitative feedback from users ✔️ Wireframing Iterations – Refine structure based on insights Outcome: Data-backed design improvements and user-validated experiences 💡 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆: UX is not a one-time process. It’s a 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘺𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨. Great products are not built on assumptions. They are built on understanding users deeply and validating solutions consistently. How does your team approach UX workflow?  Do you follow a structured process or adapt based on project needs? #UXDesign #UserExperience #ProductDesign #DesignProcess #UserResearch #UsabilityTesting #DesignThinking #UXStrategy #DigitalProductDesign #UXWorkflow

Continuing this series ➡️ Here’s the next key attribute behind a successful venture: an obsession with user experience. In every startup I’ve led—including HOPPR —I’ve found that if your product isn’t frictionless and intuitive, everything else can crumble around it. Why User Experience (UX) Obsession Fuels Success: 1. Loyalty Over Price When customers love the experience, they’re far less likely to chase discounts elsewhere. It’s that intangible “stickiness” that keeps users coming back—even if your product isn’t always the cheapest. 2. Behavior Change Made Easier According to BJ Fogg, PhD’s Behavioral Model, Behavior = Motivation × Ability × Prompt. A great UX reduces friction (making it easier to act) and provides timely prompts—resulting in higher user adoption. Make it so easy that user doesn’t need to be motivated to use your product. 3. Tangible Value Creation Look at healthcare: A great user experience can literally improve outcomes. For instance, at Hyperfine, our patient value equation was“Patient Value = Image Quality ÷ (Time × Friction)”. If the product is clunky and time-consuming, you lose that patient-value edge. My Take: I’ve spent years applying these principles in healthcare. By simplifying complex workflows, you reduce cognitive load and let people focus on what truly matters—patient outcomes, not button clicks. Whether you’re implementing AI solutions, consumer health kiosks or portable imaging devices, a frictionless experience is often the difference between a product that gets used and one that gets shelved. How to Make UX Your Superpower: 1. Use BJ Fogg’s Behavior Model Map out how easy it is for users to take action and when they need a “prompt.” If motivation is high but ability is low (or vice versa), your product won’t deliver. 2. Quantify “Friction” Especially in healthcare, measure the time, steps, or complexity your user interface. Reduce that friction to increase “Patient Value”—whichever equation your solution tackles. 3. Iterate Early, Iterate Often Gather feedback from real users in real scenarios (like a busy clinic). Little hiccups in a lab can become massive pain points in the wild—catch and fix them fast. First 5 users will identify 80% of your UX issues - you don’t need a lot to get it right. Pro Tip: Empathy is your secret weapon. Put yourself in your user’s shoes—from patients to clinicians to everyday consumers. If any part of the journey feels cumbersome, that’s your next innovation target. Your Turn: What’s one experience you’ve had—healthcare or otherwise—that felt so easy, you actually enjoyed the process? Comment below! #UserExperience #BehaviorDesign #HealthcareInnovation #Entrepreneurship #PersuasiveTechnology

Users don’t churn because your product is bad. They churn because they never made it to the part where it’s good. The first session is make-or-break. And whether your motion is product-led or sales-led, the principle is the same: the first interaction should get the user building, not just listening. Value needs to be: → Easy to find → Obvious to understand → Immediate to experience You get one shot to show why your product matters. Here are four ways to do it right - drawing from how Perplexity AI nailed their first-touch experience: 1/ Remove the gate Let users explore before asking for commitment. Skip forced signups and avoid the “book a demo” loop. Perplexity delivers full access upfront. When the product is the pitch, people stay. 2/ Use familiar patterns Don’t make users learn a new system from scratch. Leverage existing mental models. Perplexity merges the intuitiveness of search with the flow of a chat interface. No onboarding required. 3/ Deliver fast, meaningful output Delay breaks momentum. The first session must deliver a clear win. Perplexity answers your query in seconds—that’s what builds trust: utility over complexity. 4/ Make early success inevitable The user should never need to figure out what to do next. Smart defaults, inline prompts, and pre-configured paths reduce cognitive load. Make value discovery frictionless. Product-led growth isn’t just a go-to-market strategy. It’s a product design philosophy: “If it’s valuable, prove it in the first few minutes.” This applies in sales-led motions too. A demo call shouldn’t just tell a story - it should co-create something the user can see, shape, and own. The goal is shared momentum, not a slide deck. Audit your own product: → Where are users dropping off? → How long does it take to see real value? → What could you remove to cut that time in half? Users don’t leave because they’re impatient. They leave because the product didn’t earn their attention - fast enough. Build for clarity.  Build for speed.  Build for that first meaningful win.

Your competition is stealing your customers right now because they understand one thing you don't. Understanding your customers fully = building products people actually want to use. That's the goal. To get there, you can either: - Rely on your gut instinct and assumptions. - Actually learn what your customers need, think, and want. Just carry out these daily tasks: 1. Talk to your customers directly -  ↳ Give them easy ways to provide feedback through uninstall surveys, reviews, or customer support channels.  ↳ Reach out to power users and start conversations. Many customers actively want to help improve your product. 2. Make feedback frictionless -  ↳ Customers won't go out of their way to give feedback, so reduce friction with quick surveys after key interactions, in-app prompts for feature requests, open-ended responses in support tickets, and direct access to a real person. 3. Observe how customers actually use your product -  ↳ Data tells a different story than surveys.  ↳ Use analytics to see what features people use most, where they drop off during onboarding, and what actions lead to churn vs. retention. 4. Test and iterate based on customer input -  ↳ When feedback patterns emerge, act on them.  ↳ If feature requests keep coming up, prioritize them.  ↳ If customers are confused about a function, improve the UX. 5. Build relationships with your best customers -  ↳ Your most engaged users can become your best resource.  ↳ Keep in touch with them, get their input on new features, and make them feel heard. I had a user who loved our product so much that they actively shared feedback and even tested features before launch. They'll hop on a Zoom call with just 15 minutes notice. Now all you have to do is commit to customer research, and you'll build products people actually want to use. As you progress, incorporate: - Regular customer interviews - User testing sessions - Data analysis routines It's more effective than building in isolation based on assumptions. ♻️ Repost if you agree ➕ Follow me Blaine Vess for more

10 most important Product Design Principles for PMs to focus on: 𝟭. 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿-𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: This is the foundation of good product design. By understanding your users' needs and testing your designs with them, you can ensure you're building something they actually want and can use effectively. 𝟮. 𝗨𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: A product should be easy and efficient to use, with minimal learning curve. This includes clear navigation, intuitive interactions, and error prevention. 𝟯. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆: Maintain consistency in visual design (colors, fonts, layout) and functionality across the entire product. This creates a sense of familiarity and reduces cognitive load for users. 𝟰. 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸: Provide clear and timely feedback to users on their actions, the state of the system, and any errors that occur. This helps users understand what's happening and avoid frustration. 𝟱. 𝗙𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆: Offer options for customization, shortcuts for power users, and ensure your product works seamlessly across different devices and platforms. 𝟲. 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Don't clutter your interface with unnecessary elements. Focus on what's essential for users to complete their tasks and remove anything that distracts or confuses them. 𝟳. 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗪𝗮𝘆: Clear navigation and information architecture are crucial. Users should be able to easily find what they're looking for and understand how to use the product. 𝟴. 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀: Regularly gather feedback from your target audience through surveys, user interviews, and usability testing. This helps you stay in touch with their needs and identify areas for improvement. 𝟵. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀: Don't rely on assumptions. Use prototypes to test your design decisions with real users and iterate based on their feedback. 𝟭𝟬. 𝗘𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻: While not the most essential, emotional design can elevate your product. A well-designed interface can be aesthetically pleasing, create a positive emotional response, and show empathy towards users. ♻️ Save it for later and share with others!