Validate your idea before you spend a dollar on it

A four-step way to find out whether people want the thing before you build it: one sentence, ten conversations, a simple page, a real ask.

Most ideas don't fail because they were built badly. They fail because nobody needed them badly enough to pay. The good news is that you can find out a lot before you write a line of code or order a single unit.

1. Write the one-sentence version

“I help [specific person] get [specific outcome] without [the thing they hate about the current way].” If you can't fill in the blanks, the idea is still a mood. Keep rewriting until a stranger could repeat it back to you.

2. Have ten real conversations

Talk to people who match the first blank. Don't pitch. Ask about the last time they had the problem, what they did about it, and what that cost them in money, time or frustration. If nobody can remember a recent example, that is useful information.

Listen for the workaround. People who have duct-taped their own solution together with spreadsheets and reminders are telling you the problem is real.

3. Put up a simple page

One page that states the outcome, who it is for and what happens next. Send it to the people you spoke with and to a few communities where your customer already spends time, following each community's rules about promotion.

4. Ask for something real

Interest is cheap. An email address is a small signal. A booked call, a deposit, or a pre-order is a strong one. Decide in advance what result would make you keep going and what would make you change direction, so you don't move the goalposts after the fact.

Where an AI cofounder helps

It can draft your interview questions, research who already serves this customer, summarize your notes into patterns, write the first version of the page and help you set the success threshold before you look at the results. The conversations and the decision are still yours.