We Don't Sell Saddles Here (Sell the Outcome, Create the Market)
Don't sell the product — instill the yearning for what it makes possible, and build the market as you build the product
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 90%
For any genuinely new product, you're not just building the product — you're creating the market and the demand. Instead of showcasing the artifact ('look at this saddle'), sell the experience and outcome it enables ('go horseback riding'), so customers conclude they need your product to get there.
Origin
Butterfield's legendary internal Slack memo (written verbatim when the company was ~8 people, pre-launch) to instill alignment early. He draws on April Dunford-style positioning and the classic line about instilling 'a yearning for the sea' rather than ordering men to build a ship.
Core principles
- 01For anything meaningfully new, you create the market as much as the product — they're one and the same
- 02It's nearly impossible to plant a net-new idea; anchor to existing ideas ('Jaws meets Star Wars', 'Uber for pets')
- 03Sell the outcome and identity, not the object — the open road, not the motorcycle; health and aspiration, not yoga pants
How to run it
- 1
Name the outcome the product unlocks
Articulate the experience or transformation the customer actually wants, not the features of the artifact you built.
Pro tip Instead of 'look at this amazing saddle,' say 'go horseback riding — look at this incredible experience' and let them conclude they need a saddle.
- 2
Anchor the new idea to familiar ones
Because you can't easily create a brand-new concept in someone's head, combine two existing ones to convey what your product is.
Pro tip Formats like 'X meets Y' or 'Uber for Z' do the comprehension work for you.
- 3
Invest in demand creation, not just product
Recognize that if your product differs significantly from alternatives, part of your job is explaining why anyone should want it at all — creating the market, not just the product.
Pro tip Read April Dunford's 'Positioning' — short and classic.
Watch out No one needs to be told why they'd want a car or a beer, but everyone needs to be told why they'd want your novel product.
- 4
Instill alignment on this early and internally
Communicate the outcome-first, market-creating mindset to the whole team as early as possible so it survives scaling.
Pro tip Butterfield wrote the memo at ~8 people, pre-launch, to lock in alignment before growth.
In the wild
Harley sells 'the open road and freedom and the wind in your hair,' not the motorcycle; Lululemon sells 'health and aspiration and being the best version of yourself,' not just yoga pants.
→ Demonstrates selling identity and outcome rather than the physical product.
Slack couldn't run billboards like beer or cars because 'everyone would have to be explained why they want Slack' — the value wasn't self-evident, so Slack had to create comprehension and demand, not just advertise a known good.
→ Framed Slack's go-to-market as market-creation, requiring the saddles mindset.
Common mistakes
Showcasing the product instead of the outcome
Leading with 'look at our amazing feature' fails because customers care about the experience it enables, not the artifact.
Over-investing in more features instead of demand
Butterfield notes people still ignore this and keep over-investing in more features and products rather than communicating the outcome and creating the market.
Is it for you?
Best for
Founders and marketers launching a genuinely novel product where customers don't yet understand why they'd want it
Not ideal for
Established commodity products where demand and the category already exist and buyers know exactly what they want
From the transcript
“you're not just creating the product, you're creating the market. They're really kind of one in the same”
“instead of trying to convince men to build a ship, uh instill a yearning for the sea”
“it's almost impossible to create a net new idea in someone's head. It's much easier (1:11:30) to take a couple of existing ideas and and…”
From the episode
Slack founder: Mental models for building products people love ft. Stewart Butterfield