The Story That Almost Cost Us $60,000
- We were excited.
We'd talked to "dozens" of agency owners. They all complained about project management. "Nothing works for agencies!" they'd say.
We were ready to build.
Then our co-founder said: "Let's actually pay people to use what exists and see what happens."
We paid 5 agencies to use Asana, Notion, and Basecamp for 30 days.
4 of 5 continued using whatever they were using before.
We didn't build the tool.
The Signs Your Idea Is Ready
Sign 1: People Are Paying for Something Else (Even If It's Bad)
The strongest signal: users already paying for a solution, even a bad one.
Not using a spreadsheet? Not strong enough signal.
Paying $50/month for something frustrating? That's your market.
We see this with legacy tools. Users hate them. They've complained for years. But nothing better existed.
Until you build it.
Sign 2: You've Talked to 20+ Potential Users (And Listen More Than Talk)
Talking isn't research. Leading questions aren't research.
Real research: "Walk me through the last time you [problem]." "What did you do?" "How did that work out?"
You'll know your idea is ready when users tell you stories without prompting.
Sign 3: You Can Describe the ONE Job They Hire You For
Not "it helps teams collaborate."
But: "It reminds freelancers to send weekly progress reports to clients so they get paid on time without chasing."
Specific. Single job. Measurable outcome.
Sign 4: Users Show You the Workaround
When users describe their current solution, listen for workarounds.
"We're using a Zapier integration that sends Slack messages when..."
"The VA manually updates the spreadsheet every morning..."
These workarounds = clear opportunity. They show what users actually value.
Sign 5: You Have Access to This Market
Building for "healthcare administrators" when you've never worked in healthcare = bad idea.
Building for "agency owners" when you've been one = good idea.
You don't need to be the user. But you need to understand them deeply.
Sign 6: You Can Name 5 People Who Would Buy Day One
Not "would be interested." But "would buy with a credit card right now."
If you can't name 5 specific people, you're not ready.
Sign 7: You've Tried Not Building It
We once spent 2 weeks building an internal tool. Then someone offered to buy it.
We didn't build it. We sold the process.
Before you build, try to solve the problem manually. You'll learn more in 2 weeks than in 2 months of planning.
The Signs Your Idea Isn't Ready
Sign 1: "Everyone Has This Problem"
Everyone having a problem means everyone has workarounds.
Workarounds = existing solutions = harder to displace.
"Everyone is tired of email" = bad market.
"Customers are paying $500/month for email management" = good market.
Sign 2: You Can't Find 5 People Who Will Talk to You
If you can't get 5 potential customers to take a 30-minute call, you don't have a network for this market.
Building without customer access = building blind.
Sign 3: The Problem Excites You More Than Solving It
We love the idea of building a design tool. The idea excites us.
But we don't have designers in our network. We don't understand their workflow. We don't want to be their customer.
Excitement isn't enough.
The Validation Checklist
Before building, answer these:
- Can I name 5 specific people who would buy day one?
- Have I talked to 20+ potential users without pitching?
- Can I describe the ONE job they hire me for?
- Are they currently paying for something (even if bad)?
- Have I tried not building it?
- Do I have access to this market?
If you answered no to more than 2, keep validating.
The Honest Assessment
We've killed more ideas than we've built. That's not failure. That's research.
The best founders we know validate before building. They talk to users. They test manually. They find workarounds.
They build when they can't not build.
Not when they're excited to build.
Ready to validate your idea? We help founders stress-test their concepts before committing to development. No pitch, just honest questions.
