Validate Your Startup Without Breaking the Bank

One of the biggest mistakes many founders make when starting their entrepreneurial journey is pouring resources into development without first validating their ideas. Until you get feedback—or better yet, money—you’re essentially tossing time and cash into a black hole. This approach is a kind of Structured Procrastination; you’re doing seemingly productive things to avoid facing the uncertainty of building a startup.

Cheap validation

It’s tempting to dive right into building your product. You might think that the more you develop upfront, the better off you’ll be. But this mindset can backfire. Without customer validation, you could be building something nobody wants. Instead, keep it simple: talk to potential customers.

For instance, I had an idea for an analytics dashboard tailored for SaaS companies. My target customers were product managers, marketing managers, and startup CEOs. To validate this idea, I reached out to professionals on LinkedIn. My message was straightforward: I wanted to start a company in the product analytics space and needed their feedback. To my surprise, about 80% of the folks I reached out to agreed to a call to discuss their product needs and pain points. This approach gave me invaluable insights and helped refine my concept based on real-world feedback.

After these conversations, I put together a simple pitch deck and continued discussions with more potential buyers, diving deeper into pricing and features. This method saved me a lot of money and time. I learned about the competition and the real needs within the market. Most people I spoke with had more pressing issues and were already using effective solutions like Mixpanel. So, I decided not to proceed with building the product.

By talking to people and understanding their pain points, I discovered new ideas and gained new opportunities. After informing them about my decision not to pursue the project, I even received a few job offers from the people I talked to. Besides saving me from a failing startup, it opened unexpected doors.

When it goes well

When your idea gains traction, involving your potential customers early ensures you don’t come off as pushy, and you’ll build better relationships with them. Many of the people I spoke with were genuinely interested in the project and could have become my first customers.

Get in front of your potential customers

Leverage your current network on LinkedIn. Send direct messages to connections who might be interested in your product and ask others for introductions to people who might be interested in your idea. This makes it easier to reach out and say, “X suggested I talk to you about…”.

After each interview, ask if they know anyone else you should speak with about what you’re building. This often results in two or three new contacts per person, creating a snowball effect that can exponentially grow your potential audience.

The main takeaway from my experience is the importance of shattering your assumptions about the market and getting back to reality. By talking directly to potential customers, you can save a ton of money and time. More importantly, you will build something that genuinely addresses a market need. Remember, the goal is not just to build a product but to solve a problem that people are willing to pay for. This approach will not only save you resources but also increase your chances of building a successful startup.