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Before You Build It: Validate by Asking 10 People

The eighty-ideas disease, and its one cure

Founders don't fail from a lack of ideas. They fail from building an idea before confirming anyone wants it. The mind loves this: a new idea feels like progress, so you chase it, sketch it, maybe even code a little — and the chasing becomes the work, while the actual business stays unbuilt. The cure is unglamorous and it takes a day, not a month: talk to ten real people before you build anything. Not to sell them. To listen.

The 10-person test

Pick the person your idea is for — be specific, "a salon owner in Lagos," not "business owners." Find ten of them (your contacts, your groups, the queue at your barber). Ask each the same three questions, and write down the answers word for word:

  1. "Walk me through the last time this problem hit you." Past behaviour, not future promises. "I'd definitely pay for that" is worthless; "last Tuesday I lost a client because…" is gold.
  2. "What have you tried, and why did it fail?" Tells you the real enemy — often it's not the problem, it's the cost, the effort, or the trust of the current fix.
  3. "If I solved exactly that, what would it be worth to you a month?" Not "would you pay" — a number. Silence or "I dunno" means weak. A specific figure, even a small one, means real.

The signal that means build — and the one that means pivot

SignalMeans
7+ of 10 describe the same pain in their own wordsReal, shared problem. Build.
Several already pay for a clumsy fixProven willingness. Build better.
They nod politely but can't name a last time it hurtNice idea, no fire. Pivot the problem, not the solution.
Everyone wants it freeWrong market or wrong framing. Ask again, differently.

Pre-sell before you code

The strongest validation isn't "yes I'd want that" — it's a commitment. Can you get three people to agree to a pilot, put down a small deposit, or sign a one-line agreement before the thing exists? If yes, you have a business. If no, you have a hobby, and now you know it for the cost of ten conversations instead of six months of building. The 10-person test is free; the build you skip after it is the most expensive gift you can give yourself.

You don't need permission to build. You need evidence that someone will use it. Ten honest conversations are the cheapest evidence that exists — and the most ignored.
Find your ten: Lead Finder surfaces real businesses by niche and city, so "find ten salon owners to ask" takes minutes, not a week of scraping. Open Lead Finder →

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