Validate Your Idea Before You Spend $50K Building It

Last month, a founder reached out with a "validated" idea. She'd built a waitlist of 800 people. Spent $65K on an MVP. Launched to crickets.

"Everyone said they wanted this," she told me. "800 people signed up for early access. But when we launched, only 12 actually used it. And only 3 paid."

This happens every week. Founders confuse interest with validation. They build MVPs based on enthusiasm, not evidence. Then they're shocked when nobody pays.

Here's the thing: validation isn't collecting email addresses. It's proving people will pay to solve a problem before you spend months building a solution.

The $50K Mistake Most Founders Make

When founders tell me they're "ready to build," I ask: "How do you know anyone will pay for this?"

The answers I get:

"I talked to my friends and they all said it's a great idea"
"I have 500 people on my waitlist"
"This problem is obvious—of course people will pay"

None of these are validation. They're hope disguised as evidence.

Here's what actually happens: You spend 4-6 months and $50K-$150K building an MVP. You launch. A few people try it. Most bounce immediately. Nobody pays. You realize your core assumption was wrong.

The cost? $50K+, 6 months of runway, and your co-founder's faith in the idea.

Real numbers from founders I've worked with: The average "validated" idea (waitlist + customer interviews) has a 2-5% conversion rate when you ask for money. That waitlist of 500 people? You'll be lucky to get 15 paying customers. Better to find that out in week 2, not month 6.

Here's What I Do With Founders Instead

When I work with founders, we don't start with code. We start with validation. Here's the exact process:

Week 1: Problem Validation

We talk to 15-20 people who have the problem. Not friends. Not family. Real potential customers found on LinkedIn, Reddit, industry Slack groups.

Questions I have founders ask:

"Tell me about the last time you faced [problem]"
"How are you solving this today?"
"What does this problem cost you in time or money?"
"If you could wave a magic wand, what would the perfect solution look like?"

What we're looking for: At least 60% of people get animated when you mention the problem. They have workarounds. They've tried solutions that failed. They can quantify the cost.

If people respond with "Yeah, I guess that's annoying," you don't have a real problem worth solving.

Week 2-3: Solution Validation (Without Building Anything)

Once we know the problem is real, we test if our solution resonates. But here's the key: we don't write code.

Instead, I help founders create:

A simple landing page (Carrd or Webflow) that explains the problem and solution
A Figma mockup or Loom video showing how it would work
A clear call-to-action: "Join waitlist" or "Pre-order now"

We drive 200-500 targeted visitors (Reddit posts, LinkedIn, industry groups) and track conversion.

Success metric: 20-40% signup rate from targeted traffic. Under 5%? The solution isn't compelling.

Week 3-4: The Money Test

This is where I separate interest from commitment. We ask for pre-orders.

Here's the pitch I help founders craft: "We're building [solution] to solve [problem]. It launches in 3 months at $X/month. Pre-order today, get 40% off for life. Fully refundable if we don't deliver."

Target: 10-20 people willing to put down money. Even $50 deposits work.

If people won't commit $50 before you build, they won't commit $500 after you build.

Real example: A SaaS founder came to me with "validation" (600 email signups). We ran the money test. 8 people pre-ordered. That's 1.3%. We pivoted the positioning, retested, and got to 18 pre-orders (3%). Still not great, but now we knew what messaging worked before spending $80K on development.

Not Sure If Your Idea Is Validated?

I help founders run validation sprints before they commit to building. We'll figure out if your idea has legs—and what needs to change if it doesn't. Let's talk about your validation strategy.

Book a Validation Sprint

The Five Validation Mistakes I See Every Week

Mistake #1: Asking friends and family
Your mom will tell you it's brilliant. Your co-worker will be "supportive." They're lying to be nice. Talk to strangers who have the problem—they'll tell you the truth.

Mistake #2: Asking "Would you use this?"
This is useless. Everyone says "Yeah, probably" because it costs nothing to agree. Ask them to take action: sign up, pre-order, schedule a demo. Actions reveal truth. Words reveal politeness.

Mistake #3: Building first, validating later
"We'll build an MVP and see if people like it" is gambling, not validation. By the time you have an MVP, you've spent 3-6 months and $50K+. Validate with mockups first.

Mistake #4: Confusing interest with commitment
Email addresses are free. Credit cards are commitment. A waitlist of 500 might convert at 2-5%, giving you 10-25 actual customers. Validate with money.

Mistake #5: Talking to the wrong customer
You need to validate with people who have the problem AND the authority and budget to buy. Talking to entry-level employees about an enterprise tool is wasted effort.

What Proper Validation Actually Looks Like

Here's what I consider validated:

✅ Talked to 15-20 people in target market, 60%+ expressed strong pain
✅ Landing page converts at 20%+ from targeted traffic
✅ 10-20 people willing to pre-pay or financially commit
✅ You can articulate the problem better than customers (you've heard it so many times)
✅ Market size supports at least 1,000 potential customers at your price point

Hit all five? You're validated. Missing more than one? Keep validating. Don't rationalize your way into building just because you're excited.

Timeline and cost: Proper validation takes 2-4 weeks and costs $0-$2K (mostly tool subscriptions like Carrd, Calendly, Figma). Compare that to 4-6 months and $50K-$150K for an unvalidated MVP. The math is obvious.

Ready to Validate Before You Build?

I run validation sprints with Australian founders as part of my fractional CTO work. We'll test your idea properly, figure out what needs to change, and give you confidence before you commit to development.

Let's Validate Your Idea

30 minutes • No obligation • Honest feedback

Tools You Need (Spoiler: Not Many)

You don't need expensive tools or consultants. Here's what I use with founders:

For customer interviews:

Calendly (scheduling)
Zoom or Google Meet (free video calls)
Notion or Google Docs (track interview notes)

For landing pages:

Carrd ($19/year—build a beautiful page in 2 hours)
Webflow (more advanced if you need it)
Mailchimp or ConvertKit (collect emails)

For mockups:

Figma (interactive prototypes, free tier available)
Loom (record video walkthrough)
Canva (quick mockups if you're not technical)

Where to find people: LinkedIn (search job titles), Reddit (relevant subreddits), industry Slack/Discord groups, your network (for intros, not validation).

What Happens After Validation

Once you're validated, here's what I do with founders:

Option 1: You have funding, ready to build
We move to design and architecture. I help you scope the MVP ruthlessly, choose the tech stack, and either build it myself or hire/manage developers to build it.

Option 2: You need funding first
We use your validation results (customer interviews, landing page metrics, pre-orders) to build a compelling pitch deck. Investors love validated ideas because you've de-risked the biggest assumption.

Option 3: Validation shows it's not viable
We pivot or kill the idea. This sounds harsh, but it's way better to find out in week 3 than month 9. I've worked with founders who validated three ideas before finding one that worked. That's smart, not failure.

Real story: A fintech founder spent 3 weeks validating an idea for CFOs. Conversion was terrible (3%). We talked to 10 more people and realized the real buyer was the finance team lead, not the CFO. Re-validated with that persona. Conversion jumped to 28%. We built the MVP for them, launched to 200 paying users in the first month. Validation saved us from building for the wrong person.

Start Tomorrow, Not Next Month

Here's what to do in the next 24 hours:

Make a list of 20 people who might have the problem you're solving (LinkedIn, Slack groups, Reddit)
Send them a short message: "I'm researching [problem]. Would you be willing to chat for 20 minutes? Not pitching anything—just learning."
Book 5 calls this week
Ask the questions I listed above
Track patterns: What do people say? How painful is it? What are they doing today?

You'll learn more in five 30-minute conversations than you will spending 6 months building in isolation.

And if you realize your idea needs to pivot? Great. Better now than after you've spent $80K.

Let's Validate Your Idea the Right Way

I'm a fractional CTO working with Australian startups. I help non-technical founders validate ideas, design MVPs, and avoid expensive mistakes. If you're about to start building, let's make sure you're building the right thing.

Work With Me