---
title: "Does Your Product Have One Killer Feature?"
section: "Product"
sectionId: "product"
date: "2026-06"
---

*From the Jason Calacanis startup checklist.*

The killer feature is the key thing your product is known for — the one thing users would miss most if it disappeared.

Examples:

| Product | Killer feature |
|---|---|
| Snapchat | Ephemeral messaging and stories |
| Facebook | News feed |
| Instagram | Filters |
| Spotify | Entire music catalogue for one low monthly fee |
| Robinhood | No-fee trading |
| Trello | Unsplash backgrounds |
| Tinder | Swipe left or right |
| Miro | Real-time collaboration with visible mouse cursors |
| Waking Up | Sam Harris intro course + daily meditations |

A major mistake first-time founders make is focusing on new features over ones that are already working. Remember: new doesn't always equal better.

Founders often fall into the trap of thinking "if I add a new feature, traction will improve." Wrong. Identify your killer feature, get users, listen to them, delight them — and double down on what's working.

Prioritise perfecting your killer feature before expanding your product. Sometimes you don't need to invent something brand new — you just need to take an existing feature and make it dramatically better.