I keep seeing the same advice everywhere: “talk to customers,” “build an MVP,” “launch on Product Hunt,” “run some ads,” “get feedback.” It all sounds clean on paper. In real life, people say “cool idea” and then don’t buy, or they give you 20 opinions that don’t translate into revenue.
So I’m curious what actually worked for you when you validated something real.
What was the moment you knew your product solved a painful problem and wasn’t just “nice to have”? Was it preorders, DMs turning into paid calls, Stripe payments before the product was finished, churn being low, customers referring others, something else?
Also, what’s the most common validation mistake you made early on? For me it feels like collecting compliments instead of proof.
If you had to validate a new idea again from scratch, what would you do in the first 7 days to get to a yes or no?
Hot take: most “validation” advice is useless. What actually made customers pull out their card for you?
byu/AdPresent2493 inEntrepreneur
Posted by AdPresent2493
1 Comment
Fast litmus test I use: if they won’t pre-commit, they’re usually just being nice.
The strongest validation signals I’ve seen are behavioral, not verbal:
– paid pilot or deposit
– calendar commitment (booked onboarding/call)
– real switching action (they stop using current workaround)
– unsolicited referral to a peer
First 7 days from scratch, I’d run this:
1) Write one painful outcome statement (not features).
2) Do 10 problem interviews in a tight niche.
3) Ask for a paid micro-offer at the end (audit, setup, prototype, etc.).
4) Measure conversion from conversation -> payment.
5) Keep only one segment + one channel that converts, kill the rest.
Most common early mistake: collecting compliments from non-buyers. Positive feedback without a wallet decision is market research, not validation.