Sahil Thakur2d ago

"build it and they will come" is the most dangerous startup advice for first-timers.

sell it before you build it. then build.

I posted an idea with zero product behind it.
300+ people said yes in 72 hours. that's when i started building.

Did anyone else build first and wish you'd checked demand earlier? or am i just late to this realization...

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Comments (3)

Sergey Kargopolov1d ago

There was time I shared my idea with many people at the local masterminds events and morning business meetings clubs. Almost always people would tell me how excellent the idea was and they would for sure use the app.

But when the app was finally built and people were invited I think less than 1% signed up 😅.

So I would say don't even trust when people tell you it is good. Ask them to signed up to a waiting list of even pre-join for $1.

When people are asked to pay even $1 that's when they are actually evaluate if they like it enough to go for it :)

Sahil Thakur1d agoReply

This is such an important add.

Verbal enthusiasm and actual commitment are two completely different signals, people are polite in person in a way they're not with their wallet.

In my case it wasn't just "sounds cool" though, it was 300+ people messaging unprompted after seeing a post, no ask, no pitch, just reacting to a problem they'd felt themselves.
Still not the same as payment, you're right about that.
which is actually why i went one step further after launch, we're now at 6 people who've paid Rs. 499 for something still rough. that felt like the real signal, not the 300.

The $1 pre join idea is smart, forces a decision instead of a compliment. wish i'd built that filter in earlier instead of after.

Jinny Moon22h ago

I learned this the harder way too. Building is the comfortable part because it feels productive, but actually asking people whether they want the thing can be much more uncomfortable.

With Crazy Sajangnim, I built first because I personally wanted a better way to discover discounted fashion and make shopping decisions with other people. Once I started sharing it, though, the most useful feedback wasn’t about features I had already built — it was people telling me what would actually make them return, what confused them, and which parts they didn’t care about.

I still think building early can be useful when you’re solving your own problem, but I’d validate much sooner now. Even a landing page, mockup, or conversation with 20 potential users can save weeks of building the wrong thing.

The bigger lesson for me has been: don’t just validate whether people think the idea sounds good. Validate whether they’ll actually change their behavior for it.