The courage to remove

Instagram launched with one button: "Add filter." Not galleries. Not direct messages. Not stories. One button that made your coffee look better than it was.

That single choice built a billion-dollar company.

Most products die from having too many features. We keep adding, thinking more equals better. But users don't want more. They want that one moment where the product feels like magic.

I learned this the expensive way. My team spent six months building what we called a "complete solution." Users called it confusing. When we finally cut it down to one core action, people got it instantly.

This is why product design is more sculpture than painting. The masterpiece is already in there. Your job is to chip away everything that's hiding it.

Look at the giants:

• Google: Type question, get answer
• Pinterest: See something, save it
• Snapchat: Take photo, send photo

Each started with one clear action. Everything else came later.

Next time you're building something, try this: Write down every feature you think you need. Then cross out everything until you hit the one thing that would make users say "wow." Build that.

That's it. That's your V1.

You can add the rest later. But first, make one thing feel like magic.