Built it. No one cared.

I’ve built products for myself more times than I’d like to admit. So I’m just going to admit it. 

It goes like this: I get an idea. Every time, it felt right in the moment. The features made so much sense, the data was genuinely interesting (to me, anyway) and the experience felt rich, detailed, the works.  And then it’d fall flat. 

It took me a while to figure out why, but I came to the conclusion that I care more about energy than most people ever will. And that has shaped my decisions more than I realised. It’s a lesson I keep relearning, and one we still remind each other about at Eliq. 

So, let’s run through a few of the mistakes (ok, they’re not really mistakes, more lack of judgement) I’ve made building products in energy. Steal them and make sure to skip the part where you make them yourself. 

We tend to assume a level of interest that just isn’t there

When you work in this space, it’s easy to forget how little attention energy gets in everyday life. I’ve built things expecting people to explore, compare, share with their friends(what was I thinking?!) dig into their usage. Most don’t and that’s fine. They want a quick answer, not a full on analysis tool.

I’ve confused more data with more value

There’s something very satisfying about unlocking more granular data. If you know, you know 8) 15 min views, appliance-level insights, very detailed breakdowns with a matching forecast. I’ve leaned way too far into that, thinking it would make the product more useful. In reality, without clear interpretation, it often just adds noise. 

I’ve exposed data instead of shaping it

Giving users access felt like the most important job in the world. But access alone doesn’t change a thing. The real work is deciding what matters, when it matters, and how to make it actionable. Too many times, I left the use with the cognitive load they never asked for. 

I’ve designed for the curious version of the user

The one who clicks around, explores, wants to learn and can’t get enough of energy insights. The truth is, that’s a small group, which is fine. The bigger group is busy, distracted, and only opens the app when something feels off. I’ve underestimated how important it is to serve that mindset first.

I’ve overestimated how much time we get

Similar topic as the previous one, but still worth its own point. In my head, the product was something people would come back to daily and learn over time. In reality, you get a very small window to prove value. If the first interaction doesn’t land, there often isn’t a second chance to show you’re worthy of their time. 

I’ve built for completeness instead of clarity

Trying to cover every possible case and every beautiful data point. It feels like the responsible thing to do. The user saw complexity. The better experiences I’ve seen since are the ones that make sharper choices and leave things out that are not necessary, regardless of how cool they might be. 

I’ve assumed better data would fix weak experiences

It is all about the data, but bear with me here. More frequent meter reads and richer inputs are very nice to have. And it helps, but it doesn’t solve the core problem if the experience itself isn’t clear or relevant. If the whole experience doesn’t feel meaningful, it doesn’t matter how much data you throw on that poor user.

I’ve underestimated how situational energy really is

Most of the time, people don’t care - it hurts my Eliq heart, but it’s true. Then suddenly, they really do - the world makes sense again! A high bill, a move, a new EV? Those moments matter far more than the steady state. I haven’t always designed well enough for them (but we do now - you’ve seen Customer Map in Eliq Intelligence right?)

I’ve forgotten that indifference is sometimes the baseline

Not frustration, not confusion. Just not giving a s*. That’s where a lot of users start. The amount of times I’ve tried to make small talk to other parents at my son's floorball games by asking “who’s your energy provider?” (I don’t like smalltalk, ok?) and get the answer “I don’t know, don’t really care, just pay the bill”. If our product doesn’t break through that quickly, nothing else really matters. And if anyone has ideas on small talk, let me know.

None of these are dramatic failures, I didn’t really want to use the word ‘failure’ but marketing said people want to feel something. Anyway, these failures are small, perfectly reasonable decisions that add up.

Now, when something feels “interesting”, we ask ourselves who it’s actually for. When something feels “complete” we ask ourselves and ideally someone else, like my mom, “does it make sense”?

Less “Would I, the energy geek who can’t talk enough about energy, use this?”

More “Would someone who doesn’t care still get value from this, quickly, without getting pissed off”?