When Complexity Breeds Community

In product design, your goal is to reduce time-to-value for users. The UX should be clear and simple.

But for the new wave of horizontal software tools like Notion, Airtable and Roam, the magic is in their flexibility. By providing the “no-code” building blocks, these startups enable consumers to create their own personalised experience. This creates a "complexity gap".

But rather than dying, these products thrived. Their early adopters overcame the barriers to adoption and adored the end result. They shared their new workflows with the world and wanted to learn how others used the product. Leading to emergent communities of fans who congregate online and in-person to compare notes.

In the early days, before the team can set up templates and best practice guides, there’s a cold start problem — when someone signs up, it can be hard to understand how the product works, so it's easy to lose customers in that first mile.