Build for Fans, Not Haters #Shorts #Founder | EO  🔗 **Source:** [Build for Fans, Not Haters #Shorts #Founder | EO](https://share.snipd.com/episode/656be129-7566-40ed-9754-16d73edd4b52) ## Highlights - **Laravel Spent Three Years Without Revenue** - Taylor Otwell made no money from Laravel for its first three years because he kept it completely open source. - That openness exposed the project to many opinions, including both constructive criticism and hostility. Transcript: Taylor Otwell Made no money on Laravel at all. It was totally open source. When you're building open source software, there's a lot of voices. Some of them are coming from a place of like genuine constructive criticism and some of them are more like haters of your project. Say you're Metallica or you're Taylor Swift. If Metallica starts trying to cater to like Taylor Swift fans, then they lose all of their core fans. In the same way, like if Taylor Swift changes her core sound, she upsets that core fan base. And so play the hits for your fans. They're the core piece of your community. I think it can be very tempting, especially when other like smart people try to tell you, oh, I think it should work this way or I think you should do this. The people that like sit on the sidelines and sort of just like shout criticisms at open source projects, if you were to follow their feedback, there's always like another like carrot On a stick they're dangling out there. They're like, oh, thanks for doing that, but I don't like this either. And like, if you change this, oh, that would be great. You know, you keep jumping through the hoops, but they never actually like become a user of the product. ([Time 0:01:30](https://share.snipd.com/snip/ef1d8f83-039a-4ee2-9cc9-1c11450895a1)) - **Open Source Brings Helpful And Hostile Feedback** - Open-source projects attract feedback from genuinely helpful users and people who simply dislike the project. - Treating every opinion as equally valuable can distract founders from the community creating actual product value. Transcript: Taylor Otwell Made no money on Laravel at all. It was totally open source. When you're building open source software, there's a lot of voices. Some of them are coming from a place of like genuine constructive criticism and some of them are more like haters of your project. Say you're Metallica or you're Taylor Swift. If Metallica starts trying to cater to like Taylor Swift fans, then they lose all of their core fans. In the same way, like if Taylor Swift changes her core sound, she upsets that core fan base. And so play the hits for your fans. They're the core piece of your community. I think it can be very tempting, especially when other like smart people try to tell you, oh, I think it should work this way or I think you should do this. The people that like sit on the sidelines and sort of just like shout criticisms at open source projects, if you were to follow their feedback, there's always like another like carrot On a stick they're dangling out there. They're like, oh, thanks for doing that, but I don't like this either. And like, if you change this, oh, that would be great. You know, you keep jumping through the hoops, but they never actually like become a user of the product. ([Time 0:01:30](https://share.snipd.com/snip/be4994cd-b08a-4671-b511-52c246f00731)) - **Metallica Should Not Chase Taylor Swift Fans** - Taylor Otwell compares product focus to Metallica and Taylor Swift protecting their distinct sounds. - Catering Metallica to Taylor Swift fans would alienate the audience that made Metallica successful. Transcript: Taylor Otwell Say you're Metallica or you're Taylor Swift. If Metallica starts trying to cater to like Taylor Swift fans, then they lose all of their core fans. In the same way, like if Taylor Swift changes her core sound, she upsets that core fan base. And so play the hits for your fans. They're the core piece of your community. I think it can be very tempting, especially when other like smart people try to tell you, oh, I think it should work this way or I think you should do this. The people that like sit on the sidelines and sort of just like shout criticisms at open source projects, if you were to follow their feedback, there's always like another like carrot On a stick they're dangling out there. They're like, oh, thanks for doing that, but I don't like this either. And like, if you change this, oh, that would be great. You know, you keep jumping through the hoops, but they never actually like become a user of the product. ([Time 0:01:42](https://share.snipd.com/snip/bb4a9aeb-30ac-425d-8567-0dcfcfe58c65)) - **Play The Hits For Your Core Fans** - Build consistently for the people who already love and use your product. - Taylor Otwell calls this playing the hits for fans instead of reshaping the product for outsiders. Transcript: Taylor Otwell Say you're Metallica or you're Taylor Swift. If Metallica starts trying to cater to like Taylor Swift fans, then they lose all of their core fans. In the same way, like if Taylor Swift changes her core sound, she upsets that core fan base. And so play the hits for your fans. They're the core piece of your community. I think it can be very tempting, especially when other like smart people try to tell you, oh, I think it should work this way or I think you should do this. The people that like sit on the sidelines and sort of just like shout criticisms at open source projects, if you were to follow their feedback, there's always like another like carrot On a stick they're dangling out there. They're like, oh, thanks for doing that, but I don't like this either. And like, if you change this, oh, that would be great. You know, you keep jumping through the hoops, but they never actually like become a user of the product. ([Time 0:01:42](https://share.snipd.com/snip/82ffcc80-9fa5-48d4-98ad-faca12d78576)) - **Core Fans Anchor The Community** - Core fans are not merely an audience; they form the central community supporting a product. - Protecting their expectations can matter more than satisfying distant critics with no commitment to adoption. Transcript: Taylor Otwell And so play the hits for your fans. They're the core piece of your community. I think it can be very tempting, especially when other like smart people try to tell you, oh, I think it should work this way or I think you should do this. The people that like sit on the sidelines and sort of just like shout criticisms at open source projects, if you were to follow their feedback, there's always like another like carrot On a stick they're dangling out there. They're like, oh, thanks for doing that, but I don't like this either. And like, if you change this, oh, that would be great. You know, you keep jumping through the hoops, but they never actually like become a user of the product. ([Time 0:01:57](https://share.snipd.com/snip/e57517a5-8606-486b-88f8-e0087e4236b1)) - **Do Not Let Smart Critics Steer Your Product** - Resist changing direction whenever smart-sounding outsiders recommend a different approach. - Evaluate feedback by whether critics actually use the product, not by how confidently they deliver opinions. Transcript: Taylor Otwell I think it can be very tempting, especially when other like smart people try to tell you, oh, I think it should work this way or I think you should do this. The people that like sit on the sidelines and sort of just like shout criticisms at open source projects, if you were to follow their feedback, there's always like another like carrot On a stick they're dangling out there. They're like, oh, thanks for doing that, but I don't like this either. And like, if you change this, oh, that would be great. You know, you keep jumping through the hoops, but they never actually like become a user of the product. ([Time 0:02:01](https://share.snipd.com/snip/98634b5b-f4b7-48dd-824a-cc779d955971)) - **Critics Keep Moving The Goalposts** - Persistent critics can create an endless improvement loop by moving the goalposts after every requested change. - Their approval remains unreachable because they never become users, even when founders follow their suggestions. Transcript: Taylor Otwell The people that like sit on the sidelines and sort of just like shout criticisms at open source projects, if you were to follow their feedback, there's always like another like carrot On a stick they're dangling out there. They're like, oh, thanks for doing that, but I don't like this either. And like, if you change this, oh, that would be great. You know, you keep jumping through the hoops, but they never actually like become a user of the product. ([Time 0:02:09](https://share.snipd.com/snip/27e21bd6-c6b2-464f-a737-d8887f26cbfd))