# Ten Rules I Read Before Building Any Product
Canonical URL: https://theunclej.com/blog/product-ten-rules
Markdown URL: https://theunclej.com/blog/product-ten-rules.md
Description: Ten iron rules. Each one is a wound I've healed from. Not methodology—bandages.
Category: Product Philosophy
Tags: product, methodology, indie-dev
Published: 2026-01-11

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> Read this before starting any new product.

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## 1. I don't start from market—I start from memory

If I can't recall a specific scene, I won't build it.

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## 2. I only solve problems people have learned to endure

If users are already used to tolerating it, it's worth solving systematically.

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## 3. There must be a counter-intuitive insight

If the answer is obvious, the product would already exist.

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## 4. I can pinpoint exactly where users curse themselves

Not the system. Not others. Themselves.

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## 5. I only solve the part of the chain I can think through clearly

I'd rather do 10% right than 80% "good enough."

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## 6. AI should disappear, not be seen

Users don't need to understand tech. They need results.

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## 7. My products don't educate

No teaching discipline. No teaching standards. No teaching growth.

> If users need to be as diligent as you to use it well, the product shouldn't exist.

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## 8. Payment happens at "I never want to do this again"

Not before hope—after regret.

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## 9. I prioritize "action-based relief" over "cognitive change"

Action sells itself. Cognition needs long-term nurturing.

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## 10. If I have to keep explaining "why it's useful"—I don't build it

Good products speak for themselves.

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_These ten rules aren't methodology. They're my bottom line._

_Reading them before each build stops 80% of self-indulgence._