The Startup Ideas Podcast
The best businesses are built at the intersection of emerging technology, community, and real human needs.
“This just feels different. This doesn't feel like a normal budgeting app.”
What It Means
Users can perceive quality differences even when they can't articulate specific reasons why an app feels premium or unique.
Why It Matters
Shows that design details compound into memorable experiences that drive user preference and retention.
When It's True
When multiple small design improvements (animations, iconography, illustrations) are consistently applied across the app experience.
When It's Risky
When assuming users will notice subtle differences without proper implementation or when over-investing in aesthetics over functionality.
How to Apply
Focus on accumulating many small design improvements rather than single major changes
Test user reactions to understand which details create 'different' feeling
Use as validation that polish-focused strategy is working
Example Scenario
“Budgeting app developer adds page transition animations, consistent iconography, custom illustrations, and haptic feedback. Users consistently report it 'feels different' from other budgeting apps, leading to higher retention and word-of-mouth growth.”
Related Knowledge
It really is like if you have good ideas, if you have ideas that are scroll stopping, are interestin
In a world where technical execution is democratized by AI, unique and compelling ideas become the primary differentiato
everyone's using the same model, but then you build the agent on top
While AI coding tools may use identical base models, their value and performance differences come from the agent systems
software development is starting to become easy but software engineering is very very hard
Writing code is becoming trivial with AI, but architecting good software systems and user experiences remains difficult