How to waste 6 months building something nobody wants (a 10-step guide)

How to waste 6 months building something nobody wants (a 10-step guide)

I have followed this process twice. Sharing so you can execute it properly.

Step 1: Fall in love with the idea instantly. The less validation, the purer the love.

Step 2: Do not talk to potential buyers. They only produce doubts, and doubts slow down shipping.

Step 3: Do not look up competitors. If you cannot see them, they cannot hurt you.

Step 4: Pick a price by feel. $9/mo feels nice. Everyone likes cheap.

Step 5: Open Cursor immediately. Deciding what to build is what the building is for.

Step 6: Scope the MVP as everything, but smaller. Auth, teams, dark mode, an AI button. You only get one first impression, even if nobody sees it.

Step 7: Build for founders. All of them. A target buyer would only shrink your market.

Step 8: Launch to silence, then conclude marketing is the problem. It could not be that nobody needed it.

Step 9: Fix distribution by adding features. Building feels productive. Talking to users feels uncomfortable. Choose comfort.

Step 10: Blame the market and start idea number 2. Same process. It will work this time.

42% of startup failures come down to no market need (CB Insights). Nobody follows this guide on purpose. I managed it twice by accident.

What fixed it was forcing nine decisions, market, buyer, pain, positioning, scope, pricing, demand, launch, exports, before opening Cursor. I run that sequence with Shipfit now. It gives a blunt Ship, Pivot or Kill verdict and is not afraid to say Kill, which is exactly the point.

Which step have you caught yourself on? I will confess mine in the comments.