Wouldn't it be smarter to be the customer yourself, basically develop something for your own (business) progress or job to be done, and then sell it optionally to those in a similar situation?
The market first approach (developing a product for demand) only seems to really work with more generic products without high development cost, where the product advantages that result from deeper customer insights can't really play out. Where you don't run the risk of being outcompeted by a company that has those insights and customer trust from "wearing the same shoes" as their customers.
Market first could also work if you anticipate a future demand and it's a completely new market without any players yet, where you'd become the trusted choice over time because you're then seen as the original brand. But without funding it could be impossible to sustain to the point until you have enough customers.
Only if you are your own customer. There is a lot of need for software where the user is not a developer, and has better things to do with their time than write software.
The market first approach (developing a product for demand) only seems to really work with more generic products without high development cost, where the product advantages that result from deeper customer insights can't really play out. Where you don't run the risk of being outcompeted by a company that has those insights and customer trust from "wearing the same shoes" as their customers.
Market first could also work if you anticipate a future demand and it's a completely new market without any players yet, where you'd become the trusted choice over time because you're then seen as the original brand. But without funding it could be impossible to sustain to the point until you have enough customers.