Mistake #28: Selling Based on What You Like Instead of What Customers Buy

One of the most subtle — and costly — mistakes founders make is building products around their own preferences. You like the scent. You like the texture. You like the packaging. You like the story. So you assume customers will too.

Sometimes they do.Often, they don’t.

And when the market disagrees, it doesn’t argue — it just doesn’t buy.

You Are Not the Customer

Founders are usually outliers. You’re closer to the product, more emotionally invested, and far more forgiving than a real buyer. What feels “right” to you might feel confusing, overpriced, inconvenient, or unnecessary to someone else.

I’ve seen products founders loved deeply fail — and products they felt neutral about become bestsellers. The difference wasn’t quality. It was alignment with customer behavior.

Your taste is not market data.

What Customers Like

Opinions Don’t Matter — Behavior Does

Customers show you what they like in two ways:

• what they buy

• what they buy again

Everything else is noise.

Compliments, surveys, and “that’s interesting” feedback feel good, but they don’t pay invoices. If a product doesn’t convert, doesn’t reorder, or doesn’t scale, the market has already answered — even if you don’t like the answer.

Passion Is Powerful — But It Needs Proof

You can have passion for a product. You should have passion. That’s what gets you through the hard parts.

But passion without data is just hope.

You can have passion — but make sure the data supports it.

Conversion rate.Reorder rate.Velocity.Margins.

When belief and data line up, you scale.When they don’t, you adjust.

The mistake isn’t caring too much — it’s refusing to listen when the numbers disagree.

Emotional Attachment Slows Good Decisions

Founders often defend products because they’re personally attached:

• “They just don’t understand it yet.”

• “It’s more premium.”

• “The right customer will come.”

Sometimes that’s true. Often it’s denial.

Attachment makes it harder to change pricing, update packaging, refine messaging, or discontinue weak SKUs. The longer you hold on emotionally, the longer money stays tied up.

Let the Majority Decide

You don’t need everyone to love your product. You need enough people in your target audience to consistently choose it.

Watch the patterns:

• which SKUs move fastest

• which versions reorder most

• which formats convert best

When the majority prefers something you personally don’t — that’s not failure. That’s direction.

The Takeaway

Passion starts the journey Data decides the direction.

The fastest-growing brands aren’t built by convincing customers to like what the founder likes — they’re built by listening to what customers already choose and doubling down on it.

💡 Founder’s Reflection (Mayer):I still believe deeply in passion — it’s what gets you started. But experience taught me that passion has to be backed by data. I’ve pushed products I personally loved and watched them stall, and I’ve watched products I didn’t expect much from take off. When belief and numbers align, I scale. When they don’t, I adjust. Passion gets you in the game. Data tells you where to play.