"Taste is all you need" is a cope for vibecoders

This story was originally published on HackerNoon at: https://hackernoon.com/taste-is-all-you-need-is-a-cope-for-vibecoders. Vibecoder, forget "taste is all you need." Daria Volkova explains why attention and distribution drive real commercial success of tech products in the AI era. Check more stories related to machine-learning at: https://hackernoon.com/c/machine-learning. You can also check exclusive content about #vibe-coding, #solo-builder-economy, #entrepreneurship, #brand-strategy, #future-of-ai, #product-marketing, #social-satire, #hackernoon-top-story, and more. This story was written by: @dariavolkova. Learn more about this writer by checking @dariavolkova's about page, and for more stories, please visit hackernoon.com. Daria Volkova, co-founder of DecentWealth, shares her take on tech culture ("vibecoders" on X) romanticizing "taste" as the ultimate product differentiator. True commercial giants (e.g., Kim Kardashian, Trump, Guess bags, Marvel) don't win on exquisite taste. They win on attention, distribution, status signaling, and understanding what people want to be seen consuming. Tastelessness vs. Kitsch: Tastelessness (e.g., Guess bags, Trump's gold penthouse) bypasses beauty entirely and sells through blunt, unpretentious desire and affordability. Kitsch (e.g., Balenciaga's towel skirts, the AP x Swatch collab, Labubu) is a sophisticated simulation of meaning or status, selling provocation and FOMO rather than craft. Both consistently outperform actual taste in the market. Claiming "taste is all you need" allows technical founders to rebrand themselves as aesthetes instead of facing the messier, less intellectual realities of marketing, positioning, and achieving product-market fit. Developers must build commercial instinct and empathy by studying how non-technical people actually make purchasing decisions. In an AI-flooded world, the winners are those who understand human insecurity, desire, and attention.