Fundamentals~20 min

What Is a Product, Really?

Your friend just quit their job to build "an app for dog owners." They have a designer, a name, and a landing page. When you ask what problem it solves, they say: "It's like Instagram, but for dogs."

Six months and $40,000 later, they have 800 downloads and 12 weekly active users.

What was the earliest, cheapest moment this failure could have been caught?