From 412de4fc72e9b18a1aca2c72c54a7d428686a766 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Mike Bifulco Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2025 09:07:20 -0500 Subject: [PATCH 1/4] feat: newsletter on product ideas --- ...-effect-cognitition-behavioral-science.mdx | 79 +++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 79 insertions(+) create mode 100644 src/data/newsletters/mirror-effect-cognitition-behavioral-science.mdx diff --git a/src/data/newsletters/mirror-effect-cognitition-behavioral-science.mdx b/src/data/newsletters/mirror-effect-cognitition-behavioral-science.mdx new file mode 100644 index 00000000..86d79dc3 --- /dev/null +++ b/src/data/newsletters/mirror-effect-cognitition-behavioral-science.mdx @@ -0,0 +1,79 @@ +--- +title: The Science of Spotting Hidden Product Ideas +excerpt: The best product ideas hide in plain sight, in your habits and everyone else's. Watch what people actually do, not what they say they want. Build for that. +coverImagePublicId: newsletters/mirror-effect-cognitition-behavioral-science/cover +tags: [product, design, startup, psychology] +slug: mirror-effect-cognitition-behavioral-science +date: 2025-12-02 +--- + +## The Big Idea + +The best product ideas hide in plain sight, in your habits and everyone else's. Watch what people actually do, not what they say they want. Build for that. + +Most teams start their search for ideas with a brainstorm. The trouble is that people are unreliable narrators of their own needs. We guess. We speculate. We tell ourselves a story about what might help, instead of looking at how we actually behave. + +Lucky for you, a little applied science can give you a clearer way to see. + +Below are three ideas rooted in behavioral psychology which can help you find opportunities through observation of your own habits and those of others. + +## Revealed preference + +**Revealed preference** is the idea that actions speak more clearly than opinions. + +In the software world, these actions are everywhere. When developers repeat the same chores by hand, maintain a giant list of test data in a scratch file, or juggle three tools to get one thing done, they are revealing what they actually need. + +[Bruno](https://www.usebruno.com/?ref=mikebifulco.com) is a clean example. It's an API tool that has gained favor as Postman added account login requirements that their users weren't asking for, while the real preference was simple: keep everything local, work fast, commit changes, share them with a team. + +A screenshot of the Bruno homepage + +Bruno didn't invent a new workflow. It paid attention to the one people were already trying to use. + +## Habit loops + +When behaviorists talk about the **Habit Loop**, they describe it as cue, routine, reward. If the routine becomes messy, people still follow it, because the reward matters. But the mess reveals an opportunity. + +Testing an API is a perfect illustration. The cue is obvious. The reward is seeing the result. What changed over time was the routine. Postman added friction. Bruno's approach added value. All Bruno did was design a routine that matched the way developers already think. + +When you look closely at routines that people repeat every day, the problems usually introduce themselves. + +## Jobs to Be Done + +**Jobs to Be Done** reframes product building around one question: what job is someone trying to get done, and how well are their tools helping them do it? + +People "hire" their tools and workflows when they get things done. Sometimes it means a stack of half solutions held together with muscle memory. When you see the duct tape, you are seeing the job that isn't being served very well. + +In Bruno's case, the job was straightforward. Teams wanted an easy, dependable way to explore and share their api workflows with their teams. The job didn't change. The tools did. + + +## Put the mirror on your own work + +This process of finding opportunities works best when you turn the lens on yourself. + +Ever tried to describe your workflow to someone who has never done it before? I bet you'll find _something_ that sounds at least a little absurd that you've been doing for ages. + +Look at the workflows you repeat without thinking. Look at where you slow down, or compensate, or adapt to a tool that isn't quite right. These moments are often small, but they are rarely isolated. If something bothers you, it probably bothers someone else. Enough shared friction becomes a market. + +Most people think they need inspiration. What they really need is observation. + +## The takeaway + +You don't have to invent a brand new idea. You just have to watch behavior more closely than everyone else. + +_Revealed preferences_ show you what people truly value. + +_Habit loops_ show you where routines break down. + +_Jobs to Be Done_ shows you why the work matters in the first place. + +Everything else is just paying attention. + +--- + +# Keep on learning, my dudes +- Everyone's favorite self-help author James Clear has a great article on the [Habit loop](https://jamesclear.com/habit-triggers) that's worth a read. +- [Jobs to be done](https://hardcover.app/books/jobs-to-be-done-theory-to-practice) is the OG tome by Clayton Christensen that broke ground on the idea of breaking down customer needs into specific "jobs" that your product can satisfy. From a4431ee4993183ce799a413272cad3791924bca0 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Mike Bifulco Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2025 09:22:20 -0500 Subject: [PATCH 2/4] fix: typo that I repeated everywhere --- ...e.mdx => mirror-effect-cognition-behavioral-science.mdx} | 6 +++--- 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-) rename src/data/newsletters/{mirror-effect-cognitition-behavioral-science.mdx => mirror-effect-cognition-behavioral-science.mdx} (95%) diff --git a/src/data/newsletters/mirror-effect-cognitition-behavioral-science.mdx b/src/data/newsletters/mirror-effect-cognition-behavioral-science.mdx similarity index 95% rename from src/data/newsletters/mirror-effect-cognitition-behavioral-science.mdx rename to src/data/newsletters/mirror-effect-cognition-behavioral-science.mdx index 86d79dc3..14e0e94b 100644 --- a/src/data/newsletters/mirror-effect-cognitition-behavioral-science.mdx +++ b/src/data/newsletters/mirror-effect-cognition-behavioral-science.mdx @@ -1,9 +1,9 @@ --- title: The Science of Spotting Hidden Product Ideas excerpt: The best product ideas hide in plain sight, in your habits and everyone else's. Watch what people actually do, not what they say they want. Build for that. -coverImagePublicId: newsletters/mirror-effect-cognitition-behavioral-science/cover +coverImagePublicId: newsletters/mirror-effect-cognition-behavioral-science/cover tags: [product, design, startup, psychology] -slug: mirror-effect-cognitition-behavioral-science +slug: mirror-effect-cognition-behavioral-science date: 2025-12-02 --- @@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ In the software world, these actions are everywhere. When developers repeat the [Bruno](https://www.usebruno.com/?ref=mikebifulco.com) is a clean example. It's an API tool that has gained favor as Postman added account login requirements that their users weren't asking for, while the real preference was simple: keep everything local, work fast, commit changes, share them with a team. A screenshot of the Bruno homepage From b8baf296045eec68a252cb64fe8417105d28504d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Mike Bifulco Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2025 09:22:45 -0500 Subject: [PATCH 3/4] fix: api -> API --- .../newsletters/mirror-effect-cognition-behavioral-science.mdx | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/src/data/newsletters/mirror-effect-cognition-behavioral-science.mdx b/src/data/newsletters/mirror-effect-cognition-behavioral-science.mdx index 14e0e94b..de2352d9 100644 --- a/src/data/newsletters/mirror-effect-cognition-behavioral-science.mdx +++ b/src/data/newsletters/mirror-effect-cognition-behavioral-science.mdx @@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ When you look closely at routines that people repeat every day, the problems usu People "hire" their tools and workflows when they get things done. Sometimes it means a stack of half solutions held together with muscle memory. When you see the duct tape, you are seeing the job that isn't being served very well. -In Bruno's case, the job was straightforward. Teams wanted an easy, dependable way to explore and share their api workflows with their teams. The job didn't change. The tools did. +In Bruno's case, the job was straightforward. Teams wanted an easy, dependable way to explore and share their API workflows with their teams. The job didn't change. The tools did. ## Put the mirror on your own work From 4ae20b53553c1daabdf6d700efca981ded5d3d4c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Mike Bifulco Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2025 09:30:14 -0500 Subject: [PATCH 4/4] fix: awkward worgind header and heading depth --- .../mirror-effect-cognition-behavioral-science.mdx | 8 ++++---- 1 file changed, 4 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-) diff --git a/src/data/newsletters/mirror-effect-cognition-behavioral-science.mdx b/src/data/newsletters/mirror-effect-cognition-behavioral-science.mdx index de2352d9..7716a14a 100644 --- a/src/data/newsletters/mirror-effect-cognition-behavioral-science.mdx +++ b/src/data/newsletters/mirror-effect-cognition-behavioral-science.mdx @@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ Lucky for you, a little applied science can give you a clearer way to see. Below are three ideas rooted in behavioral psychology which can help you find opportunities through observation of your own habits and those of others. -## Revealed preference +### Revealed preference **Revealed preference** is the idea that actions speak more clearly than opinions. @@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ In the software world, these actions are everywhere. When developers repeat the Bruno didn't invent a new workflow. It paid attention to the one people were already trying to use. -## Habit loops +### Habit loops When behaviorists talk about the **Habit Loop**, they describe it as cue, routine, reward. If the routine becomes messy, people still follow it, because the reward matters. But the mess reveals an opportunity. @@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ Testing an API is a perfect illustration. The cue is obvious. The reward is seei When you look closely at routines that people repeat every day, the problems usually introduce themselves. -## Jobs to Be Done +### Jobs to Be Done **Jobs to Be Done** reframes product building around one question: what job is someone trying to get done, and how well are their tools helping them do it? @@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ People "hire" their tools and workflows when they get things done. Sometimes it In Bruno's case, the job was straightforward. Teams wanted an easy, dependable way to explore and share their API workflows with their teams. The job didn't change. The tools did. -## Put the mirror on your own work +## Gaze into your own mirror This process of finding opportunities works best when you turn the lens on yourself.