How to Validate an Idea (Before You Waste Months Building)

Source: Dev.to

Why Most Idea Validation Fails

Common advice looks like this:

• Build an MVP
• Launch on Product Hunt
• Collect feedback

What usually happens:

• You build in isolation
• You launch to polite comments
• You confuse curiosity with demand

Validation becomes emotional instead of objective.

What Real Idea Validation Looks Like

Validating an idea isn’t about opinions. Strong validation answers:

• Does this problem feel painful to others?
• Will people commit time, effort, or money?
• Are founders asking follow‑up questions?

Before writing code, you should already know these answers.

A Simple Framework to Validate an Idea

Write the problem (not the solution)

Describe the pain clearly. If people don’t resonate with the problem, the solution won’t matter.

Get feedback from builders, not friends

Friends are supportive. Builders are honest.

Ask structured questions

• Avoid “Would you use this?”
• What’s your current workaround?
• What’s frustrating about it?
• What would make you switch?

Look for repeated patterns

One positive comment means nothing.

Validate before you scale effort

If you can’t validate the idea without code, it’s too early to build.

Where StartupValidator Fits In

I built StartupValidator to make this process easier. Instead of guessing or launching blindly:

• Founders submit their idea
• Validate other startups to earn credibility
• Get real feedback from people building products

No hype.

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