What unrelated products or industries have shaped your product thinking?
I’ve noticed that some of the biggest product breakthroughs happen when teams look outside their own industry. For example, I’ve seen SaaS products borrow UX ideas from video games to improve user onboarding, or logistics companies apply lean manufacturing principles to streamline workflows.
But this raises a tricky challenge: how do you identify which unrelated industries hold practical insights without getting distracted? And once you find those ideas, how do you translate them effectively into your own product context without overcomplicating things?
I’d love to hear from product builders who have intentionally looked outside their direct competitors
What specific problems were you trying to solve by exploring other industries?
Which unrelated product or industry inspired a change in your product strategy or design?
How did you test and adapt those ideas to fit your users’ needs without losing focus?
Did this approach help you move the needle on user engagement, retention, or efficiency?
Really curious to learn about real-world examples where this cross-industry thinking made a measurable impact.
Replies
Pokecut
Don’t go industry-hopping with a checklist; instead, start with the problem you want to solve and ask: “Who else wrestles with this in a totally different way?” Then translate—not transplant—that insight, and test mercilessly. Oh, and keep it fun! Sometimes the wildest ideas come from the most unexpected places, and that creative spark can be the difference between a product that’s just good and one that’s genuinely magnetic.