I used to think validation meant “research.” It’s not.

For a long time I validated ideas by:

• reading competitor websites
• analyzing market sizes
• watching YouTube breakdowns
• asking friends if “the idea sounds good”

None of that was validation.
That was just intellectual comfort.

Real validation starts the moment you talk to someone who doesn’t care about you and ask them to do something that requires effort:
• join a waitlist
• fill out a form
• pre-pay
• commit to a call
• or simply say “yes, I want this now”

If they do nothing - the idea isn’t validated.

The hardest truth:
People love supporting you, but they rarely want your product.

So now my validation process is:

1. Describe the problem in one sentence
2. Share it where the audience already exists
3. See if anyone leans in on their own
4. Only build after that

Curious how others validate:
Do you ask for pre-commitment up front, or do you test behavior first?

(Working on CraftName — a tool to speed up early branding decisions. If naming has ever slowed your launch, this might resonate.)
https://craftname.app