What fundamental mistake do founders make when attempting to create customer demand for a new product?

Founders routinely assume that market demand can be manufactured through persuasive sales pitches, polished marketing copy, or endless feature development. In reality, customer pull is discovered rather than created. You cannot convince an indifferent prospect to care about an abstract problem; you must search for a coiled spring of pent-up urgency where the customer is already actively looking for a way out of an untenable situation.