What I Learned

1. Solve a real pain

• Deadline worked because the workflow pain was immediate
• Reliability mattered more than novelty
• Production problems create strong demand

2. Keep it simple

• A simple architecture can beat an elegant fragile one
• Fewer moving parts meant fewer failures
• Robustness won trust

3. Follow market pull

• Render management was a larger market than fluid simulation
• Beta feedback helped define the right product
• Big opportunities can start inside someone else's company