The startup world has a disease. It's called "premature implementation."

Most founders waste months building an MVP or thousands on market research before knowing if anyone actually cares. They obsess over logos, tech stacks, and features that literally nobody has asked for. This isn't just inefficient. It's insane.

You don't need wireframes. You don't need a prototype. You definitely don't need to write a single line of code. What you need is validation that your idea solves a real problem people actually have.

Here's the truth: most startup ideas are bad. Not because founders are stupid, but because guessing what other people want is really hard. The quickest path to a good idea is to cycle through many bad ones, fast and cheap.

All you need is yourself and 30-50 potential users from the demographics you think would use your product. No personas. No journey maps. That fancy stuff comes later, if at all. Keep it simple now, or you'll just cloud your judgment with complexity.

1. Talk to these 30-50 people. Find them on Reddit, Slack channels, Discord, WhatsApp, or even on the street. Wherever you'll find your core customers, go to them.

   Pro tip: When approaching these people, don't pitch your solution yet. it's a trap! Just ask about their problems. Say something like, "I'm researching challenges people face with [problem area]" rather than "I'm building a tool that does X." Most people jump straight to solutions before truly understanding the problem. Don't do that. Let them tell you what's broken before you try to fix it.

2. As you talk with them, record everything. (I'm thinking about writing software for this purpose.) Capture voice, video, and save the pages where discussions take place. Put it all into a CRM-style spreadsheet or tracking tool. This allows you to summarize, categorize, and distill the three key things they all said would make their lives better. This is where your time investment is most valuable.

   Focus on these key questions during your conversations:

   • What's the biggest frustration they currently experience?
   • How are they solving this problem today? (Most problems already have solutions, just bad ones)
   • How much time/money are they spending on current solutions?
   • What would an ideal solution look like to them?
   • How valuable would solving this problem be? Get them to quantify it.

   Look for patterns. When three different people independently mention the same pain point without you asking about it directly; that's not coincidence. That's a signal. Pay attention to it.

3. Open up your favorite landing page builder: Wix, Figma Sites, Cursor, or whatever works for you. Create a landing page that offers a solution for those three features everyone mentioned would improve their lives. Collect email addresses, use a Cal.com meetings scheduler, or whatever method you prefer to get people ready to engage.

   Your landing page needs just five key elements:

   1. A headline clearly stating the primary benefit (not what it does, but why it matters)
   2. 3-5 bullet points highlighting key features based on your research
   3. A clear explanation of how it works in simple terms
   4. Social proof (even if it's just quotes from your research participants)
   5. A strong call-to-action (schedule a call, join waitlist, etc.)

   Don't get caught in design perfectionism. Nobody ever said "I would have signed up for this life-changing product but the button was the wrong shade of blue." The message matters more than aesthetics at this stage. Make it clear, not fancy.

4. Depending on who your customers are, spend $250 or less on ads on Reddit, LinkedIn, Facebook, and wait for people to click through.

   Start small with your ad spend ($10-20 per day) and test multiple audiences. The goal isn't to maximize clicks—it's to see who cares. Use simple A/B tests with different headlines based on what you learned in your research. Target specific communities where your potential users hang out—niche subreddits, professional Facebook groups, or LinkedIn communities. Don't waste money trying to boil the ocean. Find the small ponds where your fish are already swimming.

5. Video call everyone who responds. Request to record the conversation. Ask what made them connect, but don't ask leading questions. Listen to understand what emotions led them to you. Thank them for their time.

   Structure your calls with this simple format:

   1. Thank them for their time (2 minutes)
   2. Learn about their role and context (5 minutes)
   3. Explore their problem experience (10 minutes)
   4. Introduce your solution concept (5 minutes)
   5. Gauge their reaction (5 minutes)
   6. Ask the most important question: "If this existed today, would you use it?" Then shut up and listen.

   Pay attention to their body language and tone, not just their words. Excitement indicates pain, while politeness often signals indifference. Most people are too nice to tell you your idea is bad. But their behavior doesn't lie.

6. Compare everything you thought you heard in your first fact-finding mission on Reddit and Discord with what you just learned from your calls. Refactor based on feedback from people who were genuinely interested in those three key features. Update your landing page and ad accordingly. Run it again.

7. If you can manage a 5% click-through rate, you might have a unicorn. Around 2% or better means your idea is validated! Less than 2%? Scrap it and move on with a maximum loss of about $500.

Reading Between the Lines

Remember that people are naturally polite. "That sounds interesting" usually means "I'll never use this." Don't confuse politeness with validation. Look for strong positive signals:

• They try to sign up on the spot
• They ask when it will be available
• They offer to pay you immediately
• They ask to be notified as soon as it launches
• They introduce you to others who might need it

These behaviors—not just words—validate genuine interest. If you're not seeing these reactions, you don't have product-market fit yet. Keep iterating or move on.

Avoiding Common Validation Mistakes

• Confirmation bias: Most founders only hear what they want to hear. Don't do that. Listen objectively, especially to negative feedback.
• Feature creep: Stay focused on validating the core value proposition, not a list of features. One solid solution to one real problem is better than ten half-baked ideas.
• False positives: Friends and family will be supportive—they're lying to you because they care. Seek feedback from strangers.
• Premature scaling: Don't increase ad spend until you've proven people actually convert. Throwing more money at a bad idea just burns cash faster.
• Ignoring objections: When potential users point out problems, they're giving you valuable data. Those objections are gold.

From Validation to Launch

I've seen countless founders waste six months building something nobody wants. Don't be that person. This process helps you validate ideas in weeks, not months. One startup I advised tested three different concepts this way, quickly killed two that got poor engagement, and focused on the one that resonated. Six months later, they had paying customers and were 100% bootstrapped, they probably will never need funding.

Remember: the goal isn't to prove your idea is good. The goal is to quickly find out if anyone cares enough to pay attention. Most founders went through several concepts before finding their winner. This process just helps you cycle through them more efficiently.

The best businesses aren't built on complicated validation frameworks or 100-page business plans. They're built on solving real problems for real people. Keep it simple. Talk to people. Test your assumptions. And move on quickly when you're wrong.

This article is an updated version that offers a much better approch than originally published on Jan 22nd, 2024.