(2024-02-23) Great Products Have Great Premises

Anu Atluru: Great Products Have Great Premises. The most powerful thing a product can do is give its user a premise... A premise is not just a purpose, unique value proposition, or marketing hook (tagline). But sometimes, it can be embedded in each of these too.

A premise is the foundational belief that shapes a user’s behavior. A premise can normalize actions that people otherwise might not take, held back by some existing norm.

Let me break down three examples of great premises.

AirBnb: The premise: It’s ok to stay in strangers’ homes

Bumble: The premise: It’s ok for women to ask men out.

Substack: The premise: It’s ok to charge for your writing.

let’s run through a short list of things to keep in mind:

A great premise is baked into a product’s core features & constraints.

Powerful premises pave the way for powerful identities. (identity, hero's journey)

Premises are most valuable for unorthodox, niche, or emerging behaviors. Great premises give permission, hence there must be something most people would seek permission for.

A counter-example might be Duolingo

A premise is valuable not only for “products,” but also for experiences.

Premises are most powerful for consumers, but businesses can benefit too. Premises work best on end consumers, prosumers, small business freelancers, and the like.