How to Make Users Go ‘Whoa’

I optimize for joy.

Sublime is not just a product – it's a journey, a community, a point of view on productivity and meaning.

Elan: What I think is so interesting is that it's not just the look and feel of the product. It's all about how it makes you feel and the story behind it. Would you agree?

Sari: 100%. The difference is in: ‘I'm using this to accomplish a task’ vs. ‘This is something that I love and I'm going to tell everyone I know about it.’

Sari: What I was getting at was that features never win people over. There has to be something else. There has to be a point of view.

Elan: Something that you’ve written about is this idea that there’s two kinds of startups: one that's solving a functional problem, and one that's manifesting a creative vision. What's your take on the distinction between the two?

Sari: People want to go on a journey. They want to understand what your vision is, not just what problem you’re solving... See more