Paying for attention attracts exactly the people you don't want. What I learned building (and pivoting) Demofi

A few weeks ago I started building Demofi: indie builders discover AI tools by watching a short demo and earn rewards for it; vendors pay per session. Felt clean — two-sided, everyone wins.
The flaw I missed: paying people for attention selects for people who want the reward, not the tool. I was manufacturing interest that converted into nothing — and any vendor paying for it would've had unworkable CAC.
So I flipped it. Instead of paying builders to watch, the demo now unlocks a real perk for a tool they were already curious about. Same 2-minute demo, opposite selection — the people who finish actually want the thing. Vendors pay per real trial-start, not per view.
The lesson I keep turning over: what you ask someone to do is your real filter, not what they say. A cheap action pulls in the cheapest motivation; gating something they genuinely want flips who shows up.
I'm pre-product on purpose — proving the loop by hand with a few founders before building more. Just put up an early-access page for both sides: builders who want first dibs on perks, and founders with an AI tool.
One thing I'd love this crowd to pressure-test: does gating a wanted perk actually select for real intent, or does it just attract a classier deal-hunter who takes the perk and never sticks? Tear into it.