Founders Skip Validation, Build Wrong Thing

“Maybe first assess whether it will be compatible with your business, them asking does not mean it is worth building, just try foccussing on making the product better [re: How do you decide whether to build a feature in-house or rely on a third-party provider?]”

“I read your substack post, my only comment is that distribution IS a key metric in successful for a startup and product. I agree tho that people keep beating the horse and i just dont understand how many more "revolutionary" ideas we can go thru. [re: Got fired, built a product for a year, and nobody uses it. Tell me why.]”

“I appreciate, mate. I was exploring ideas and thinking about surveying directly from businesses. I got the clarity. [re: talked to 12 micro saas founders making $5k to $30k/month. none of them found their idea by brainstorming. here's what they actually did]”

“agreed, barrier to entry matters a lot when youre starting from basically nothing [re: I want to start a business but have 0 connections, or idea where to begin. Where do I start?]”

this is the kind of post that should be pinned at the top of every founder community, not the "just launched my mvp" spam [re: If nobody is buying your product, don't…

“To be fair, standard rules of engagement don't always apply at a startup, especially in early funding rounds, but it's still completely reasonable to push back and ask for reasoning behind such a request and set proper expectations. Being a founder/leadership doesn't inherently mean someone knows what they are doing or that they have the right idea about what the responsibilities of certain roles should be. I am the chief product officer of a startup, but I'm also the game direct”

“Click-bait, but not really. Occasionally, I encounter software ideas that sound, to be frank, dumb. Dumb, as in, it makes me ask why anyone would pay for the product. One such app is AbMaxx, which claims to use AI to evaluate your abs along multiple metrics from a picture and create a personalized workout plan. It blows my mind because this app makes five figures MRR by selling people (let's be real, almost entirely dumb teenage boys) something they can find with one Google search. This deve”

Just try something [re: Want to start a business but no ideas]

“for most early stage people its not really any single step, its that they dont have a tight enough niche. When you narrow down who you serve, finding prospects and writing outreach both get way easier because you actually know what to say. [re: What's the hardest part of getting clients as a freelancer or founder]”

“I'm curious how other founders approached customer discovery when they were starting from zero. I've found that building something is one challenge, but getting conversations with people who might actually need it is a completely different one (I definitely prefer building). I've tried reaching out to potential users, but most messages don't get a response. I'm trying to work out whether I'm contacting the wrong people, approaching them the wrong way, or simply expecting”

“being cheap probably did more than the stats. a sponsor on a 6 week old site is mostly buying a test, and a low price makes the test easy to say yes to. [re: My side project just landed its first sponsorship after I cold emailed ~50 companies]”

“Totally. You have no idea what’s what when you first start. Have you experimented with preselling or crowdfunding? I’ve read about several entrepreneurs that prefer to do that to gauge interest in the product before launch. Thanks for the insights here [re: I studied 10 founders who sold their companies. Most of them failed with their first marketing channel.]”

“yeah and it helps to decide upfront what you actually want to learn from the first people, like do they get past onboarding at all. edge cases can wait till someone actually hits one [re: how do you decide when a side project is "good enough" to show people?]”

“First problem is your partner has a "if we make it they will come" type of thinking. Unless they're ridiculously influential already, the type of person that has hundreds of friends in real life and thousands of followers for just being themselves, then that type of approach almost never works. They end up as the "as seen on TV" type products that you buy for stocking suffers or throw away gifts. If it's just a passion project of theirs that they enjoy making that&#39”

congrats on shipping. the "first 100" goal is smart but id focus less on downloads and more on retention, like how many people actually finish 10+ levels. that tells you way more…

“I’d start by talking to people who actually have the problem and finding out how they handle it today. A landing page or prototype can help, but real interest means more when people are willing to try it or pay for it. It’s better to validate the problem first than spend months building something nobody needs. [re: How do you validate a SaaS idea before building it?]”

“You do realize you get to that question by looking at the success stories, and those are 0.001% of all. As a tech co-founder myself I can tell you - 99.99% of the tech people are absolutely incapable of doing all what a startup needs, very small percentage is even capable of building anything complex enough to build a company on it. There are plenty of good tech people, but that does not mean they understand all the pieces of a software system or know how to design such a thing on a first place,”

“I agree that GMV alone doesn't tell the whole story. That's exactly why I think product development deserves more attention. A strong launch can generate sales, but product quality and customer satisfaction are what make those sales sustainable. [re: How a Chinese influencer sold $370K+ of underwear in one month — and why I think product development mattered more than marketing]”

“This is the #1 killer of technical founders: "I can build anything → I'll just build something → I'll figure out the problem later." Wrong order. That's how you end up Speed matters. But speed in the right direction matters more. submitted by /u/fadhilnebhan [link] [comments]”

“Yeah, that’s a fair point. I need to look more closely at what’s already out there, like Odoo, before building anything. I’m trying to figure out if there’s a gap for smaller businesses, especially when it comes to knowing what’s coming in and going out, and whether they’ll have enough cash to cover payroll, suppliers and stock orders. I also agree about the data entry. If it takes too much effort to keep the tool updated, nobody’s going to use it. Still figuring out whether there’s a real probl”

“Marketing matters the most. [re: If everyone can build software, what becomes valuable enough that people will still pay for it?]”

“because everyone builds their own if its something like this easy [re: Got fired, built a product for a year, and nobody uses it. Tell me why.]”

“Thanks, "a working prototype in front of real users" beating a slick demo is a good way to put it. Did the prototype stage also help with the compliance question, like a pilot first and SOC 2 later, or did the buyer need that settled up front? [re: Chatbase vs Intercom Fin: a small AI team vs a big incumbent]”

“Exactly! Going the short route isn't good long term. Building organically is the best way [re: Purchasing existing IG accounts when starting?]”

Real need? Probably not. Most people don't fail because they couldn't capture or validate an idea, they fail because they won't actually talk to customers or build the thing. The tool doesn't…

“the "founders run out of money, not startups" framing is really solid tbh [re: Should i PAUSE or should i continue? (i will not promote)]”

“First find people who struggle with something then offer them to automate it, then profit, not the other way around [re: Got fired, built a product for a year, and nobody uses it. Tell me why.]”

“I watched many "influencers" and I see there is no a good recipe. Most of all the cases was luck, nothing else. I know many, many founders who "build in public", are very active, grow their audience, but never gain even 1/100 of number of followers of those who I meant. I did the same and see only 2 things that can move a needle (besides luck): - if you create something significant, something "wow" - if you experience great success pretty quick. Any other effort wil”

This might be a spicy take, but if you can’t identify a potential real customer to talk to, you probably shouldn’t be working on a project for them. Customers aren’t hypothetical and…

“I put something out on another startup sub recently and ended up with around 50 founders in my DMs in a single day. I asked almost all of them the same four questions. The answers were so consistent that I think it's worth writing down. The four questions What does it cost you to get one paying customer, not one signup? What does that customer pay you per month? How many months until you get your money back? What percent of them are still here at month 12? Nine people out of fifty could answ”

“There’s always startups coming up. Before beehiiv could you name any recent email startups? I can name two dozen, some of which didn’t make it, others of which are still around. Just because you may not know them doesn’t mean they don’t exist. I’m not in that space any longer, so I’m not close to it. But, for example, there are plenty of AI-native software up and coming (Rox in GTM, Attio in CRM) that didn’t start off with any inherent structural distribution. [re: Suddenly, I have a clear visio”

“And let me tell you important thing here, Even if idea is great, The development or building part is cheap and easy but selling it , bringing user is the part where its almost impossible [re: Web app to see your close friends curations]”

“The prices people think they'll get for something they've launched is nuts. Especially when what they launch has zero technical experience behind it and is usually incomplete...and the same as the other 99 that launched the same day. It'll pass...people will realise casually throwing together the next great app isn't a get rich quick scheme and move on to something else. That built by people with experience will still win out in time. [re: Anonymous Slop SaaS]”

“Just describe it. It probably already exists, in 6 forms. [re: Looking for opinions on startup idea (I will not promote)]”

“Have no idea what your product is trying to solve, and how it compares to the million other solutions. [re: Got fired, built a product for a year, and nobody uses it. Tell me why.]”

“I’m not saying this to be mean - you don’t get marketing. At all . You need to watch some content - not tutorials - just content to start with some basics. Features are great. But they don’t resonate with users. Go and look at almost any established SaaS (multi million market leaders) and almost all of them have a ‘features’ page. The home page and the hero content is dedicated to pointing out the advantages of using their app. The benefits you’ll get if you use it. The features are just the ‘ho”

“trust only goes so far tho. bigger companies with money just copy what works and market it to death, then ur the one struggling to keep up. seen it happen with small saas i used to use [re: Are you worried about MOAT?]”

“Think this is the reality of a lot of businesses in today’s market. People are babysitting their Claude and making sure at least the quality of the outputs are decent before shipping it. As a founder that’s has been running a digital agency for 14 years, it’s crazy to see the involvement within the space and the heavy use of LMs to not only do the decisions but do the judgement and then actual execution to work. For larger teams, though, that work in bigger product pods, we saw that sometimes th”

“there are a few. but maybe the ones ive been to - i dont find people at a similar wavelength [re: Want to start helping Businesses but not spend (confused)]”

“Idk the best way anyone has validated the idea yet but the best way coming out is WillowStack.😃 [re: What’s the best way you’ve validated a business idea (I will not promote)]”

“Ha fair. something true, e.g. “first time founder, still pretty early on this”. mostly trying to learn from people who’ve actually been in these fights, which is why I keep posting. if you’ve had one go sideways I’d love to hear how it played out [re: Your pricing page is a contract. I scored 64 usage-priced ones on the five rules nobody writes down.]”

“Why would you build for an industry you have zero connections in or knowledge of? What unique insight or value can you possibly have as a founder if you don’t know anything about the space. Founder Market Fit is a real thing. [re: Everyone says "talk to customers before building." But how do you actually find them?]”

“Honestly the hardest part might be getting investors to change habits, not the tech [re: Is startup discovery actually a problem worth building a SaaS around?]”

“I can agree that writing code was never really the expensive part and that upkeep is, but what has really changed is scope. Noone in their right mind would want to "build salesforce" on their own. But if you have a team that is using 10% of salesforce and paying premium salesforce licensing, then an opportunity has presented itself. I can build a simple CRM customized to a team's workflow for a fraction of the annual licensing costs. That's a much smaller thing to maintain and thats where the ma”

“Hey founders, doing a little research on the design, engineering, and branding aspects of getting a physical product from idea to out the door. I've gotten to chat with people in my area, but trying to get as many perspectives as I can to start! This is super open ended, so share whatever seems relevant. Thanks! submitted by /u/Dry_Comparison3812 [link] [comments]”

“For that matter, many startups don't build things that produce something that is commercially practical. [re: What’s up with brilliant techies being flat broke]”

“Man, you’ve just discovered the problem that’s driven our evolution as a species since the beginning of time. Even in 2017, a good idea could be copied by 20 good developers. Yes, it’s harder to get noticed now. But does that mean you give up? Or do you redirect your effort away from building, because that part got easy, and focus on new ways to reach your audience? You might have a genuine interest that no agency with millions in ads has. That can’t be bought. There’s an audience for everyone.”

“Ya like I said, you still need to understand the why but assuming you do, ai takes a massive amount off your plate. Thats not to say founders of ecomm brands passed a certain revenue threshold should be handling the marketing themselves either...But whoever does happen to be managing email marketing should absolutely be leveraging ai. It is really amazing how much time it can save you, and if you know what youre doing, how much it can help you improve things. [re: Ai for email flow?]”

“a big audience helps with the launch, but it doesn't tell you whether those followers have the problem or will keep using the product. if you're starting without one, i'd pick a group you can actually reach and talk to people about something they're already paying or spending time to fix. a specific job, industry, or local community gives you somewhere to start. you can learn why someone stopped using the product and help them get it working. that's harder to do from a launch”

“I'm a first-time hardware founder and I'm still at the concept stage. Nothing is built or tested. I'm asking for advice, not selling anything. The problem: people don't carry power banks because they're bulky, cables get forgotten, and someone in the group is always at 2%. The concept is called O-Ring. It's a magnetic power accessory designed to attach to your phone and charge it. Then you detach it and hand it to a friend so they can charge their compatible phone. It&#39”

“I just finished writing my tenth case study last week so I decided to do a deep dive to find the most potent takeaways (about 70 hours of research, 132 sources and 87 founder quotes) and thought I’d share it with y’all. Companies studied: The ten companies in my dataset so far: AppArmor (campus safety app), Sour Strips (candy), RXBAR (protein bars), Baremetrics (SaaS analytics), Wirecutter (product reviews), Plenty of Fish (dating), Pura Vida (bracelets), MVMT (watches), Tom’s of Maine (toothpas”

this is such a cool application of 'find a problem and offer a solution. I think founders often go after obvious problems that have already been solved in some shape or form…

“This was a huge pain point for me as well and the founders I write weekly case studies on. I've found that the systems you mentioned work incredibly well, even if simple, in order to scale effectively. Without them, it crumbles around you. A second part to this is that when you eventually delegate tasks, you can't hand slop over and expect results. You need tested systems that are built for scale and are easy for someone else to understand. [re: One thing I underestimated when starting a”

“I write case studies on founders who exited and I see this a lot. One thing I would say is that focus has to be narrow to succeed in most cases. The majority of the 11 founders I've written about stick to a single channel for distribution and growth and nail down the specifics for that one before moving on to another. [re: What's one business process you wish you'd simplified earlier?]”

“I'm curious how other founders approach this. Do you try to keep everything as lean as possible until you have paying customers, or do you invest more upfront to build the product you want? 100% and always . at the start try to make most of your cost relative cost . then as the system grow and costs grow you move from relative cost to fixed cost . so instead of AWS and other infra as server you get VPS and set it up . you setup CI/CD processing for lunching . you find other payment channels”

“Another "we'll fix marketing for you" tool that still needs you to bring the audience. [re: This is why 90% of startups don't get past the distribution stage]”

“If you look at most failed startups, the product wasn't the issue. The code worked, the Ul was clean, and the core idea made sense. They died because of marketing and distribution. As solo founders and small teams, we constantly run into the same massive marketing roadblocks: Marketing Agencies Are Outrageously Expensive: Paying $2,000 $5,000/month to an agency for generic content destroys early runway. Manual Content Creation Eats Your Time: Trimming raw video clips, writing high-converting”

“It's a parenting app and I am sure my budget is very small. [re: Founders, this is how I am spending in marketing. Am I burning money? i will not promote]”

“i tried an failed at ecom 2 years ago. maybe with the skills ive leraned since i could make a go of it. always down to chat. [re: Any entrepreneurs here actually building something real and want to connect with someone who’s been through the shit, built businesses from the ground up and still gets their hands dirty every day?]”