Jan. 12, 2024
Read time: 3 minutes and 6 seconds.
tags:Building a product and praying someone will buy it is risky. This is the sad reality of some developers who want to risk it big by taking a leap of faith on hopes and dreams. You’ll waste time building the wrong thing if you don’t validate the core problem first. Which is something I’ve said time and again. The solution is simple: sell your idea before you even touch a line of code.
Many entrepreneurs fall into the trap of building a product based on a cool solution, only to find out nobody actually needs it. You might have amazing AI technology, but if it doesn’t solve a real-world problem, it’s useless. I’ve written about just how awful this attitude really can be. This is where you get into this territory of problems with the product because you came across this awesome AI that can do everything. A solution in search of a problem.
Focusing on features instead of the core problem is a recipe for disaster, especially as you can get scope creep that develops into subpar frankenstein software that really doesn’t address a problem. Examples like MySpace and other failed platforms highlight this mistake firsthand by missing the point and pivot on which their customers are moving. Even as you see the needs of your customers evolve, it’s important to note and prioritize the things that are most important to them. And the only way to really do that is to talk to them enough until you thoroughly understand their pain. You need to identify and validate the problem before building anything.
If you can sell something that doesn’t exist yet, you’ve found a genuine need. This “Wizard of Oz” approach, where you manually simulate the product’s functionality, is invaluable. Some people might have these brilliant ideas, but paying customers really tell you if it’s something worth stewing over or not. Besides, being able to pre-sell something proves out just how valuable a tool can be. Imagine basecamp, a project management company that did such an awesome job of pre-selling a tool like E-mail (yawn 🥱) to thousands of subscribers before ever writing a single line of code. Simply by focusing on the interface and marketing it well for their customers.
They didn’t focus on all of the cool things they can do with e-mail. Instead, they looked at the main points people hated about e-mail and resolved them. The features and functionality are mostly the same, the solution wasn’t innovative, but they were able to presell their solution without writing a single line of code. The customers basically served as a crowdsourcing fundraiser for them to be able to actually build it instead of spending months on something that might flop.
Selling first saves time and resources by ensuring you’re on the right track.
Trevor Milton, the founder of Nikola, understood the demand for alternative energy vehicles. He sold the concept of hydrogen-powered trucks before building anything, raising billions in funding. Milton’s success (before committing massive amounts of fraud) demonstrates the power of pre-selling. However, his fraudulent actions are a cautionary tale. It’s good to be able to sell something before you build it… But then you have to build it. Trevor was able to accomplish this with a piece of technology that didn’t yet exist by having a potemkin hydrogen fueled truck pushed on stage.
People bought into the dream because they could see the potential of the problem this could solve.
Please note: I don’t condone or recommend committing fraud.
The core takeaway is simple: validate your product idea by selling it before you build it. This approach ensures you’re solving a real problem and dramatically increases your chances of success. Start validating your idea today by talking to potential customers! It’s not about taking credit cards and telling people to buy buy buy, but listening and proposing a solution that could be viable and presenting a potemkin product enough to give it legs.