Part 10 of 19 in Make Your Users Heroes: An Indian Founder’s Guide← Part 9Part 11 →
Most Indian founders obsess over product features and technology stacks. But if you’re honest, your product isn’t the hero — your users are. Look around. Zerodha, Groww, Meesho — these companies didn’t climb to the top by adding bells and whistles. They did it by elevating their users. It’s time you stop polishing the chrome and start focusing on empowering your users.
What Makes a Product Truly Valuable?
Zerodha: Education Over Features
Zerodha could have easily spent a decade adding shiny new features to its trading platform, Kite. Instead, it invested in Varsity, an educational platform that’s free, open, and not monetized. No funnels, no pop-ups. Just pure, unadulterated learning. And guess what? Two million people have taken lessons there. Some became Zerodha’s clients, but more importantly, all became smarter investors. Smarter investors stick around. They talk. They attract more users.
“The product is a subset of ‘I can participate in markets without being a fool.’”
Most founders mistakenly think adding features will attract more users. Wrong. Empower your users to become better versions of themselves, and they’ll stick around for life.
Groww: Embrace the Novice
Groww took a different approach by focusing on first-time investors who found traditional brokerage environments daunting. Its sign-up process is straightforward. KYC is human-friendly. The first investment action? A tiny SIP. Critics sneer that this is infantilizing, but reducing anxiety isn’t decoration; it’s a necessity.
Groww’s user base skews younger and more female — a direct result of making the first step accessible. If your product doesn’t acknowledge the user’s starting point, you’re designing for yourself, not them.
Meesho: Empower the Owner
Meesho didn’t aim to be a middleman. It aimed to empower. The founders realized that the hero wasn’t the buyer but the woman who shared products on WhatsApp without tools. Enter ‘meri e-shop’. The infrastructure — catalog, logistics, payments — was there to support her, not overshadow her. When she earns, she doesn’t say Meesho is awesome; she says she has a shop.
Are you giving your users a stage to shine, or are you hogging the spotlight?
Why Most Startups Get It Wrong
Obsessing Over Features
Most founders believe that more features equal more users. They don’t. Users aren’t fooled by shiny interfaces. They crave real value. If they can’t see how your product makes them better, they’ll leave. Your job is to make them the hero of the story, not a footnote in your product roadmap.
Ignoring User Context
If you’re designing for yourself, you’re missing the point. Take Khatabook, for example. They didn’t tell merchants to abandon their century-old bahi khata. Instead, they digitized it, respecting the mental model that had stood the test of time. When they forgot this and tried to act like a SaaS company, users left. When they returned to listening, the product became invaluable again.
“The hero is not the app. The hero is a merchant who sleeps knowing who owes him.”
Overlooking Real Needs
Physics Wallah didn’t succeed because it was a better educational app. It succeeded because it remembered what it was like to be confused. Alakh Pandey knew the minute a concept slips from a student’s grasp. That’s why students waited when the app failed at launch. Trust had been built over years of free teaching.
Your product isn’t just something users buy; it’s a promise that you understand their struggles and are there to help them overcome them.
Making Users the Hero: A Step-by-Step Guide
- Identify the Real Hero: Understand that your user is the hero of this story, not your product. Your product is merely a tool to help them succeed.
- Empower Through Education: Like Zerodha, invest in educating your users. Make them smarter, not just more equipped.
- Design for Accessibility: Take a leaf from Groww’s book. Make the first steps simple and anxiety-free.
- Respect Existing Practices: Like Khatabook, don’t force users to abandon what they know. Upgrade their rituals.
- Build Trust Over Time: Trust isn’t built overnight. Consistency, as seen with Physics Wallah, is key.
The Bottom Line
Stop obsessing over your product’s bells and whistles. Your features aren’t the hero — your users are. If you want to succeed, focus on empowering them. Make them smarter, more capable, and give them a stage to shine. When your users win, you win. That’s the real secret to a successful product.
FAQs
Why should I focus on user empowerment over product features?
Features are transient; user empowerment builds loyalty. When users feel smarter and more capable, they stick around and attract others.
How can I identify what my users truly need?
Listen. Spend time understanding their existing behaviors, challenges, and goals. This will guide you in creating a product that genuinely helps them.
Is simplifying my product a sign of weakness?
Not at all. Simplification can make your product more accessible and user-friendly, which is a strength.
What if my product doesn’t fit the “user as hero” model?
Reevaluate your approach. Every product can find a way to empower its users, whether through education, accessibility, or respect for existing practices.
If you’re serious about empowering your users and transforming your product into something truly valuable, consider reaching out to Malpani Ventures for hands-on guidance.