People Don’t Buy Products. They Buy Better Versions of Themselves

“People don’t buy products. They buy better versions of themselves.”

— Don Draper (fictional, but absolutely right)

This one quote, penned for a fictional ad man, holds a profound truth that separates the wildly successful founders from the perpetual tinkerers. It is the secret heartbeat of all great product development and the compass for problem-first entrepreneurship.

Too many founders start with a cool idea—a piece of shiny, complicated tech looking for a home. They chase the thrill of building.

But the best ones? They start with real pain—an itch, a struggle, a fundamental unmet need—and build something that helps people become who they desperately want to be.

If you are going to build what's worth solving, you must internalize this shift in perspective. Here is the framework to stop building products and start selling transformation.

The Ultimate Upgrade

Let's break down exactly what "buying a better version of themselves" means.

When someone buys a premium course on financial literacy, they aren't buying 20 hours of video content. They are buying "Financially Secure Me."

When a small business owner subscribes to a sleek, expensive CRM, they aren't buying database management software. They are buying "Professional, Organized, and Growing My Business Me."

The product is merely the vehicle. The purchase is the contract a person makes with their future self. Your features are how you deliver the transformation, but the transformation is the why they sign up.

Founders who obsess over features and specifications miss the entire emotional core of the transaction. Founders who obsess over the identity shift their product enables are the ones who build movements, not just companies.

Problem-First Thinking: The Unsexy Truth of Success

The "cool idea" founder is a builder. The "better version" founder is an empath.

Product-First Thinking: “I can build a decentralized, AI-powered social ledger using blockchain technology. Now, who has a problem that fits this?” (A solution looking for a problem.)

Problem-First Thinking: “Small agencies waste 15 hours a week manually inputting data between five different tools. This pain is costing them $X per month and making them miserable. I will build the simplest thing possible to eliminate this 15-hour pain point.” (A problem demanding a solution.)

Problem-first thinking means falling in love with your customer’s problem, not your solution. Your job is to deeply understand the current, cumbersome, or expensive way they are already trying to solve their problem. That struggle is your data. That pain is your market.

Market Pull Over Tech Push

This is where problem-first thinking translates directly into revenue predictability.

Tech Push is what happens when a founder builds something because it's technically possible. The product is pushed out into the market, and the founder then spends an exorbitant amount on marketing to convince people they need it. The sales process is a constant uphill struggle of convincing.

Market Pull is what happens when a founder builds something because it's functionally necessary. The pain is so acute that the market is already seeking a solution. When your product is introduced, customers are drawn to it because it offers instant relief and a tangible step toward their desired identity. The sales process is simply one of positioning your product as the obvious answer to their existing cry for help.

When you solve a desperate problem, the market pulls the product from your hands. You stop marketing features and start selling relief.

A Framework to Test If Your Idea Truly Matters

Stop asking: "Is this a cool feature?"

Start asking: "Does this facilitate a meaningful identity shift?"

Use this three-question framework to test the fundamental viability of your idea before you write the first line of code:

1. The Cost of Inaction Test (The Pain)

• What is the current, measurable pain this idea eliminates? (Don’t say "inefficiency." Say "The 12 hours a week the founder wastes on invoicing," or "The stress of being unprepared for a financial audit.")

• What is the emotional, financial, or time cost of doing nothing? If the cost of inaction is low, your product is a 'nice-to-have.' If the cost of inaction is high, your product is a 'must-have.'

2. The Identity Acquisition Test (The Transformation)

• What is the desired 'better version' the customer is hiring your product to become? (e.g., A budgeting app helps a user become 'Fiscally Responsible Me.' A productivity tool helps a user become 'In-Control and Focused Me.')

• Can you articulate the transformation in a single, emotional sentence? (e.g., "We don't just secure your data; we give you the peace of mind to focus on scaling.")

3. The Ugly Fix Test (The Market Pull)

• How are people solving this problem right now using cumbersome, expensive, or ridiculous means?

If you see people duct-taping spreadsheets together, paying for wildly over-featured software just for one function, or resorting to complicated manual processes, this is proof of market pull. They are suffering, and their "ugly fix" is evidence that the pain is real enough to justify a simpler, cleaner solution. They are trying to become 'Organized Me' using a blunt instrument. You can give them the surgical tool.

Don’t Just Build. Solve What’s Worth Solving.

The shift is simple, but powerful. Stop looking at your idea as a collection of functions. Start seeing it as a bridge between who your customer is today and who they aspire to be tomorrow.

Your product isn't the destination; it's the journey. And the most successful journeys are the ones that begin with a desperate need for change.

Solve the pain. Enable the transformation. The revenue will follow.