Harnessing the IKEA Effect for AI-First Products
We love what we build, even when imperfect. That’s the IKEA Effect: effort creates value. In SaaS, let users build: templates, safe drafts, sharing, audit trails, so they feel ownership. Co-create with AI as copilot or constructor. Earn loyalty with portability, not lock-in. Show ownership clearly.
Why We Love What We Build (Even When It’s Imperfect)
In the past 10 years, I’ve moved homes five times. Every time, I said the same thing: “Never again with IKEA furniture.” And yet, I always ended up back in that maze, cart full of boxes, Allen key in hand (or 'brugola' for the Italians).
Why? Because despite the frustration, there’s a strange satisfaction in sitting on something you built yourself. It’s not perfect. But it’s yours. Your effort is in it.
Same with puzzles. As a kid, I remember seeing a giant 10,000-piece world map puzzle framed on the wall of my dentist’s office. I didn’t get it back then. Why go through all that effort just to glue it to a board? Years later, I understood. They built it. That’s what made it worth keeping.
Or LEGO. Taking apart one creation just to reuse the bricks always felt brutal. You weren’t just dismantling plastic. You were undoing something you made, something you cared about. I can see the same pattern with my little one.
Same with mixtapes. Back when music lived on cassette, we spent hours crafting the perfect sequence. It wasn’t just a playlist. It was a message. We gave them to the people we liked most or as a sign of 'crush'. It mattered because it took effort.
We grow attached to what we create because of the time, energy, and emotion we invest in the process. Imperfections don’t reduce the value. In fact, the effort makes it matter more.
So what does this have to do with SaaS? Everything.