Making stuff takes work.
And the more we work on any given project, the more we want it to succeed.
Like an artist who works on a sculpture for thousands of hours, we learn to see the beauty in our own creations. We're biased by the backstory, knowledge, and emotional incentives at play.
But the market couldn't care less.
It’ll quite gladly chew us up, spit us out, and send us on our way without a second thought.
So it’s worth establishing, right from the beginning: are we building something for its own sake, or to earn the money/approval of others?
Either can be good choices. But doing both rarely is.
(Note: the rest of these principles assume you're building something for the world, not just for yourself.)