How do you 'make it easy'?

Whenever I present an idea to a friend for a site/application, the first statement out of their mouth tends to be 'Make it easy'. What does that mean to you? How do you go about breaking up a complex task into easily consumable components? Likewise, how do you strike a balance between making something easy, and treating your users like idiots.

I'm asking in the context of being able to bootstrap a startup, without the ability to hire a UX person.