How often do innovators ask themselves if someone really needs their products? In this episode of the DMI podcast, host Will Francis speaks with Laurier Mandin, founder of Graphos Product and author of I Need That. With over 30 years helping innovators bring ideas to life, Laurier reveals how brands can turn customer wants into needs by focusing on empathy, validation, and true problem-solving.

Laurier shares lessons from working with sustainable B2B products like recycled wind-turbine materials and explains why many innovators still skip the crucial step of validating whether anyone needs what they’re building. He also discusses the psychology behind purchase decisions, our “dog brain” versus “tank brain”, and why clarity and simplicity in messaging always win.

Laurier’s Top 3 Tips for Marketers

1. Validate properly: Test your product with real money or real commitment, not just surveys.

2. Go beyond MVP to “MWP” (Minimum Wow Product): Build something that makes people say wow, not just it works.

3. Focus on empathy and clarity: Cut the clutter, connect emotionally, and make the need unmistakable.

The Ahead of the Game podcast is brought to you by the Digital Marketing Institute and is available on ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube, Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠all other podcast platforms.

And if you enjoyed this episode please leave a review so others can find us. If you have other feedback for or would like to be a guest on the show, email the podcast team!

• 1:00 – Why “need” trumps “want” in marketing psychology

• 4:40 – Pain points and empathy: How to connect like Steve Jobs

• 9:00 – Building trust and shared purpose with customers

• 11:00 – Inside Laurier’s work: guiding innovators and building go-to-market roadmaps

• 13:00 – Case study: Recycling wind-turbine blades into building materials

• 16:00 – How to persuade risk-averse buyers to adopt innovation

• 20:00 – Getting involved early: linking product development and marketing

• 24:00 – Finding the original need behind every innovation

• 27:00 – Why simplicity beats features (and what Apple teaches us)

• 33:00 – Positioning for your tribe: how similar products can coexist

• 34:00 – Lessons from I Need That: validation, emotion, and the “dog brain”

• 38:00 – How to run validation that actually works

• 44:00 – Laurier’s “Innovative Product Go-to-Market Roadmap” explained

• 48:00 – Using AI to accelerate, but not replace, expertise

• 49:00 – Which marketing channels work best today

• 55:00 – Balancing paid and organic: why SEO still matters

• 57:30 – Laurier’s top advice for innovators