An Argument Against Idea Validation
Our community always says that idea validation is the best first step when starting a project.
And for good reason.
Why would you pour time into a project without even validating the idea?
Our basic understanding of idea validation
Idea validation usually takes the form of:
- Creating a landing page
- Creating a product waitlist or email list
- Talking to potential customers
Only once you have proven some level of interest in this idea should you start working on it. This could be from traffic on the landing page, a good set of emails, or large interest in the problem space from conversations.
I want to make an argument for the other side and provide a real-world example of when it worked out for me!
When validation makes sense and when it doesn't
Validating your idea is great advice if:
- You don't care if the product exists
- You know little about the problem space
- Your goal is to grow the product quickly
- You want to minimize time lost
This seems to be true for most indie hackers. Our goal is to create some product that generates revenue for us online. The product isn't important and the way it generates revenue isn't important. It's just an implementation detail.
However, we're all humans who have personal interests and passions. There are bound to be some niches that we care so deeply about that we'll build for them regardless of if they'll become successful.
And I'd argue that these projects that come from personal passion and investment--the projects that you'd build regardless of validation--are often the ones that succeed.
When not validating makes sense:
- When you're personally invested in the existence of the product
- If building the product is not very time consuming (< 1 month imo)
- When building can teach you more than validating (usually for technology-heavy products)
A personal example
In February, I was a little lost in my indie hacker journey. I had built 2 projects that were not very successful, then had taken on a freelance project for some supplemental income. I was sick of working on the freelance project and had been going in circles for ideation/validation.
I finally crafted an idea that I thought had promise only to find that validation proved me wrong. I did not care if this product existed, I just wanted a project that generated revenue.
During my self-pity, I spent a lot of time in bed watching videos or scrolling social media and I got really bored. I wanted to build something since I hadn't really coded in a while (I was stuck in validation). One video brought back an old interest of mine--alternative keyboard layouts like Dvorak and Colemak.
This spark of inspiration immediately got me into coding, skipping any form of validation. I just wanted to build the damn thing.
In 1 night of inspiration-fueled frenzy, I built the prototype for https://keyboard.experimental.software/.
I didn't care if anyone ever saw this project, I just built it because I wanted to test out keyboard layouts in a fun way and I wanted to code again.
I posted this project on r/InternetIsBeautiful and it ended up ranking #1 for that day.
Just yesterday, this site has started ranking on Google with 0 SEO work. Also, since I hosted this project on a subdomain of my freelance business site, it's bringing traffic to my business.
Final words
I just want to say, if you really want to build something, feel free to ignore people's advice and just do whatever drives you.
When you follow passion, unexpected things can happen.
This needed to be said! Great article. Especially true if your building something that will ease your own pain point. Given it's something that doesn't take too long to build then - build for yourself, remove your own pain point, if you have that pain point then maybe other people do too, if not then worst case scenario is you no longer have that pain point.
Great article. I really love the final words: "When you follow passion, unexpected things can happen."
Great article Alexander!
I love the constraints that you put on projects that you don't need to validate first. If you're building it for yourself, go for it! If the opportunity cost of building it is low, then take the risk! It's when these rules aren't followed, that founders can find themselves months (and sometimes years) in without a product that solves a real problem.
Yes, well said! I do think idea validation is the correct route for most people and most projects. But when those conditions are right, builders shouldn't feel held back by idea validation.
I realize that the ideas themselves aren't that important. I’ve seen so many funded startups work on a single idea for two years only to have to pivot afterward. The pivot is painful and sad. Then the pivot isn't successful and they shut down.
And I really believe that if they could’ve tried 2,3,5 times more, they would have been successful. But they couldn't get enough reps in.
What I do is try to avoid falling in love with ideas and instead judge them based on a pre-defined set of criteria. I've created a spreadsheet that helps me run those ideas through a filter so it's super easy to decide what to work on.
That's really interesting! Would love to read a post about your set of criteria to judge ideas.
I agree, the idea itself is generally not that important for product success. I think it's mostly that the builder really cares about the idea or that the builder really cares about solving a problem.
Excellent!
Thank you!
i didn't realize people were typing in different formats...i guess we all learned a certain way to type growing up and got used to it. But at the time we learned, the computer was in its infancy of adoption, really.
Perhaps I'll be exploring these new keyboard arrangement, its like changing a tuning of the guitar lol
Yes! It’s a really interesting topic that got me down a rabbit hole. In a sense, QWERTY is the most outdated, it’s just so common now because it’s hard to get out of convention. Formats like Dvorak are basically strictly better, but since everyone else uses QWERTY, it doesn’t make sense to switch most of the time (unless you’re cool like that). But really fun to play with!
Love this! Can relate -- I'm building things that I'm curious about/want to use and enjoy using the projects as a a vehicle to learn different skills/tools/frameworks. The journey is the goal!
Yes! This is definitely one reason people start indie hacking that others often forget about
Excellent article Alexander! it resonate with the little experience I had for my 2 projects!
Thanks for sharing this, great advices.
Good point! Sometimes passion is more important than profit. Or maybe passion come first, profit come second.
Totally agree. We tried to validate an idea last year, but didn't find "demand" for it after a few interviews.
But I stayed with a feeling that something was not right; and I still would love to have that idea as a product to use in my daily job... I might ignore those interviews some day and build it anyway!
Very well said. From my professional experience working with customers for over 20 years I have never experienced people being more interested in the idea description rather than a working thing. Being lazy is the human nature so If I can touch it and try it easily, I will get interested when it matches my requirement. If it is something I am not sure how it works, most of the time I will leave it without even reading about.
Oh, I needed to read this. I have often asked myself whether I have validated enough for the past year. In my case, I knew I could have built a solution faster than having all those conversations. Ultimately, I think I balanced it out; I did some validation, built something, validated again, etc. Now, I have a solid product. But I could have had that earlier, I would say. Indeed, feel free to ignore people's advice!
Just took the same path recently:
Great article!
I'm not sure if I'm correct, but I feel the same way about Kumitapp (my project). In my opinion, it's not effective to approach customers with just a spreadsheet to test whether the idea will work or not.
At the outset, I recognized a problem within my niche (Martial Arts) and proceeded to develop a prototype, Flutter app, and Backend API. On March 10th, I tested it with the assistance of my wife at a real Karate Tournament, and it was a success. By midday, attendees had stop using manual backups altogether and relied solely on Kumitapp for managing the event.
I felt great at that moment. Yes, I understand that one success alone doesn't establish a rule or guarantee triumph, but the traction and visibility that my SAAS garnered at that event wouldn't have been possible without a prototype for people to install and use.
When I visit dojos across Bogotá, people are excited and engaged when they saw the app running on their phones. Therefore, I am confident that the success of my project is rooted in that initial prototype and user base.
I can identify with "when building can teach you more than validating." In my experience, doing something for the sake of learning and enjoying these have turned out to be the most fulfilling endeavors that lead to the best results.
Paradoxically, sometimes what it takes to succeed in finding what you seek in life is to stop stubbornly searching for it.
Nice article. I would also say that if you are building a product in a market where there are already players in it, validating your idea is not so much worth as much as building a great product, ideally better than the incumbents.
Take Linear.app for example, they spent a lot of time fine-tuning their userr experience. There was no need to validate their idea, the need for an issue tracking system was already there, as the existence of the market shows.
Your story is refreshing and inspiring! A quote that complements your experience:
“You must understand the following: In order to master a field, you must love the subject and feel a profound connection to it. Your interest must transcend the field itself and border on the religious.”
― Robert Greene, Mastery
By focusing less on success and more on self-expression, you'll grow professionally, deepen your passion, and ultimately create something truly valuable.
Well done, man!