This comment, and the corresponding "if you build it they will come" mentality is exactly why so many startups fail.
How exactly would you have a viable product with lots of users without marketing?
I have seen bad products become phenomenally successful with good marketing, but I can't think of any app, no matter how good it is, succeed without marketing.
Or do you think your marketing plan consisting of "word of mouth" will work?
Seriously, usually I love the hacker mindset on HN, but comments like this make me cringe.
I think a more accurate mentality is if you build it they CAN come. I'm fully aware that the act of building itself means nothing, so let's not make this all black and white.
What I meant is that learning how to email bloggers, use adwords, optimize for SEO and create funnels, or the B&M version of the above, is about 500x easier than being technically competent.
I have a tech background. I've built sites that achieved rapid growth. No, it didn't happen magically on its own. Yes, I eventually learned about A/B testing and conversion. But if life was an RPG, I'd load my character up on the technical mastery, knowing how much harder that is to build up relative to business skills.
As a coder and a marketer, I would disagree. You can get by with sloppy code and even some bugs, but messing up an ad campaign could have drastic financial consequences.
No disrespect, but I think the nuances/details of marketing successfully are far more difficult to master than learning a programming language. Not to mention that there's a lot more competent programmers than competent marketers.
How exactly would you have a viable product with lots of users without marketing?
I have seen bad products become phenomenally successful with good marketing, but I can't think of any app, no matter how good it is, succeed without marketing.
Or do you think your marketing plan consisting of "word of mouth" will work?
Seriously, usually I love the hacker mindset on HN, but comments like this make me cringe.