What founders actually need before hiring developers

A surprising number of founders start looking for developers before they have clarity on:

• the actual problem
• the target user
• the core workflow
• what makes the product different

A lot of people think they need:

a huge spec

40 features

polished UI

complex architecture

But honestly, the best MVP projects usually start with something much simpler:

1. one painful problem
2. one clear user type
3. one/two core features
4. a fast feedback loop

Everything else can evolve later.

Curious if anyone here is stuck before building or trying to figure out what their first version should actually include