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The right way to validate your product idea

Stuck finding validation for a product idea? 🤔

As someone who's failed countless products, one thing I found myself getting better at over time was validation.

Here's an actionable overview of everything I learnt when validating a product 👇

1️⃣ Streamlining the validation process

If you're an indie hacker looking to land your first dollar as quickly as possible, my best advice is to build a product in an existing market.

If I had my time again, this is the path I'd follow...

Find an existing product that serves an active audience, then learn how you can create your own unique version.

Because customers are already paying for a similar solution, you can leapfrog most of the validation process.

Platforms like Microacquire are a great place to find a curated list of profitable products already generating revenue.

2️⃣ Why your job is a superpower

Almost 2 years ago, I quit my full-time job as a marketer to go all-in on indie hacking.

While this experience has been invigorating, there's one downside to my path that's often overlooked...

By removing myself from an operational company, I no longer have access to unique problems or insights within the industry.

These insights can be a superpower for makers looking to validate new ideas.

If you - as a full-time employee - are facing a problem or bottleneck at work, it's within your employers best interest to pay for a suitable solution.

If this problem is common for others working in a similar role, you can quickly scale the solution across companies.

3️⃣ The power of a cold email/DM

I've said this before, but in my opinion, the best MVP is a cold email or DM.

In most cases, you could acquire your first paying customers with nothing more than an exchange of messages.

Let's say you have an idea for a product that solves a problem you've experienced.

Take the time to email or DM others who could also be experiencing this problem within their day-to-day lives.

This could be employees at a different company, or even members of a community you're associated with.

When you first get in touch, introduce yourself as a genuine person who experiences a problem, then ask if they also experience the same issue.

You should also ask if they've found an existing solution to the problem.

This approach not only makes you more relatable, but can help uncover any additional insights about existing solutions or competition this person is currently paying for.

If the person responds to your message by acknowledging the problem, but can't identify an available solution, you can then share your intentions to build something suitable and ask if this is something they'd pay for.

If they're willing to pay - great!

If they're not - still great!

Validating that your product isn't needed is just as important as finding out that it is.

Your time is precious, don't waste it pursuing a dead end.

Regardless of their response, I'd also take the time to ask if they'd know of anyone like themselves who also experiences this problem.

More often than not, they'll have a network of like-minded people.

IN SUMMARY 👇

I could talk all day about validation, but these a handful of actionable tips I've found useful along my own journey to date.

If you'd have any additional tips of your own, I'd always love to hear them ✌️


If you found this post useful, I'd recommend checking out my Twitter profile here. I share transparent insights from my indie hacking journey 2 times a week.

  1. 1

    Hi Lachlan,

    Most new kinds of products would not have existed with this approach. Cameras in cell phones - not popular to begin with. Databases - not popular to begin with. In general technology is ahead of people understanding why they need that technology.

    Not even dishwashers would have made the cut if anyone had followed your simple approach.

    1. 1

      Yes, because all of those products were built by indie hackers with the goal of trying to create a lifestyle business...

      1. 1

        Okay let's limit ourselves to IH lifestyle business. Either you are competing in a known area like say publishing podcasts or you are doing something new. If its a known area then its unlikely you can get much feedback without a finished product. If its something new then again technology leads demand and people don't know they need it.

        What is your example of a successful IH lifestyle business that would have been simple to validate?

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