You’ve probably heard it a hundred times:
You need to be passionate about the product you’re building.
Sounds reasonable. But in practice, that advice can lead you down a frustrating path — especially when you’re still figuring out what to build.
You start scanning your hobbies, trying to reverse-engineer a business. You ask yourself: What’s something I enjoy that could be turned into a product?
It’s a loop I know well.
What I Thought I Wanted
I’ve always had a thing for cars. Not collecting them — building, tuning, driving. In university, I joined Formula Student, a competition where students build a full race car from scratch. I loved every part of it: designing systems, sourcing parts, seeing something come to life.
Naturally, I thought: maybe one day I’ll start a car company.
But when I actually looked at what that meant, it didn’t match the activities I loved. Starting a car company isn’t about building cars all day. It’s about B2C sales, maintenance networks, financing, marketing — a whole set of responsibilities that weren’t even on my radar back then.
And that’s when I realized:
It’s not about the product.
It’s about the process.
What You Actually Do Matters More
What really energized me — then and now — was the act of creation: turning an idea into something real. The sketch, the prototype, the test run, the improvement loop.
That’s what I’ve always enjoyed. And that’s what I try to optimize for.
It sounds obvious, but many people forget this step. They fall in love with an outcome, and forget to ask: What will my day actually look like if this works?
Because that’s what you’ll be doing most of the time. Not the launch tweet, not the keynote, not the investor pitch. Just… the work.
And if you don’t enjoy the work, you won’t stick around long enough to win.
Not Every CEO Loves Screws
There are entire industries built by people who aren’t passionate about the product — but deeply obsessed with how value is created.
Take screws or washers. I doubt any founder is passionate about the piece itself. But supply chain, logistics, inventory optimization, and distribution? That’s a different story.
It’s not about being excited by what you sell. It’s about being energized by how you deliver it.
Start With the Work
So instead of chasing a “passion product,” ask yourself:
- What kind of work do I actually enjoy doing?
- What activities give me energy — even on the hard days?
- Who do I want to work with or serve?
- What type of customer do I feel aligned with — not just in need, but in values?
In my case, I like designing systems, working with engineers, and solving technical problems that touch the physical world. But I also know there are industries I wouldn’t want to serve — no matter how interesting the engineering might be. Slot machines for casinos, for example, would be a hard no for me.
That mix — the kind of work, the type of customer — should guide what you build next.
Your Role Will Change — Be Prepared
One more thing people don’t talk about enough: even if you start by doing what you love, your role will evolve.
Writing code becomes managing a team.
Talking to customers becomes building sales and marketing systems.
Solving technical problems becomes solving human ones.
And finance — like it or not — becomes your job.
You don’t have to love every part of that. But you do need to own it.
And if you’re lucky, you’ll grow into it over time. I did.
Two Paths Forward
Once you’re clear on the work you enjoy, there are two natural paths:
1. Build a service company around it.
That’s what I did with Blacbird Technologies.
I focused on the things I enjoyed — building a team, engineering complex systems, setting up manufacturing — and built a service business around that.
It had natural scale limits. But I genuinely liked showing up to work. And that matters.
2. Build a product company where your favorite activities stay central.
Not just in the early days — but even as the business scales.
If you can design a system where the things you love doing continue to drive value, that’s a powerful long-term setup.
A Quick Story: World
When I joined World (previous “Worldcoin”) as a founding team member, it wasn’t because I was passionate about identity infrastructure.
But the role was a perfect match for the work I loved.
I got to:
- Build a complex and unique hardware product from scratch
- Scale manufacturing to thousands of units with a top-tier partner (Jabil)
- Lead global certification, supply chain, and logistics
- Build out field ops and maintenance at scale
- Experience the growth of a global team from 10 to 500+, working with world-class talent
It was a massive, chaotic, high-stakes project — and it matched the kind of work I love doing.
The product didn’t need to be my lifelong obsession. The work is.
And that’s why I enjoy it so much.
Final Thought
Don’t get stuck waiting for the perfect product to show up.
Instead, start with the work.
The kind of work you’ll do every day. The kind of work you want to get better at. The kind of work that feels meaningful.
Because if you enjoy the process, you’ll stick with it long enough to build something great.
And that’s what actually matters.