The "Validation" mistake most SaaS founders make (and how to avoid it)
"Validate before you build" is mostly terrible advice. It sends founders down a rabbit hole of customer interviews where everyone is nice. You spend weeks scheduling calls. People tell you your idea is "brilliant" and "a game-changer." You get all hyped up, spend 6 months building the thing… And then you launch to the sound of crickets. Why? Because people are nice. They don't want to hurt your feelings. But a "that's a great idea!" doesn't pay your server costs. People will tell you what you want to hear. They’ll say your idea is amazing. They’ll say they’d “totally pay for that.” But when it’s time to actually pull out their wallet? Ghosted. The only vote that truly counts is a credit card. This is the only validation that matters. Someone giving you their hard-earned money for a product that doesn't even exist yet. Instead of asking people if they'd buy your SaaS, you build a simple landing page and a compelling offer and see if they actually buy it. When you have 10 people who have paid you before you've written a single line of code, THAT is validation. Anything else is just a conversation. My loving suggestion? Stop collecting "maybes" in interviews. Start collecting customers.