A feature is a response to a problem, and the problem is always more interesting. When you start with the feature you commit to a shape before understanding the friction, and that shape becomes load-bearing before anyone confirms it’s solving the right thing. Clarity on the problem matters more than speed on the solution. Building a feature before knowing the problem is half-cooked. Opinionated doesn’t mean half-cooked.
This is why Keep user experience discussions at the product level matters, the problem only becomes visible at the level above the interface. Forcing signup before a user has seen value is a version of this mistake. The team asks “how do we get people to sign up?” before asking whether signup is actually the problem worth solving. Zoom and Replit grew in part because they let people experience the product first and commit later, or not at all.