Vitamin vs Painkiller Developer: Balance Innovation & Crisis
Not all developers solve problems the same way. Some build features that are "nice to have," while others address urgent, pressing issues. The difference? They're either a "Vitamin Developer" or a "Painkiller Developer."
In the startups world, the term "painkiller" is often used to describe a product or service that solves a pressing problem for customers, it is expected to be a must-have in order to solve a pain point, while a "vitamin" is a product or service that is nice to have, but not essential, as an example, a painkiller would be a CRM system for a sales team, while a vitamin would be a team chat tool. It's something they need, not just something they want. Taking this analogy further, I think that in the tech world, the same concept applies to developers, but we need both types if we want to build a successful team less reactive and more proactive.