Product-Market Fit & Early Validation
Before you write a line of code or file an LLC, you need to know if the problem you are solving actually matters to someone other than you.
Where conviction comes from
Founders arrive at their idea through different doors. For some, it is lived experience — years of managing complex enterprise systems and seeing the same failures repeat. For others, it is witnessing problems up close with family or friends and realizing no one has fixed them. Both are valid. What matters is the intersection of background, awareness, and opportunity.
Background gives you domain knowledge. Awareness means you can see the gap between how things work and how they should work. Opportunity is timing — the market, the technology, and your personal situation aligning. When all three converge, you have the foundation for something real. But conviction alone is not validation.
Talk to people before you build
The single most important pre-build activity is interviewing potential users. Not pitching. Not surveying. Interviewing. You are trying to understand their world, not sell your solution. The goal is to learn whether the problem you see is the problem they feel.
Talk to 15-30 people in your target market. Ask about their workflow, frustrations, and what they have tried. Do not mention your product until the last five minutes.
Ask people to rank their top three problems. If the problem you are solving is not in their top three, it does not matter how good your solution is.
Ask: 'If this existed today, would you pay for it? How much?' The answer reveals whether this is a vitamin or a painkiller.
Understand what they use now — spreadsheets, manual processes, a competitor. The absence of alternatives is a red flag, not a green light. It may mean the problem is not painful enough.
The interview framework
Keep interviews to 30 minutes. Use open-ended questions. Never lead with your solution. The best question format is: "Tell me about the last time you experienced [problem]." Then shut up and listen. Take notes on the exact words people use — those words become your marketing copy later.
Read Rob Fitzpatrick's "The Mom Test". The core principle: never ask anyone if your idea is good. Even your mom will lie to you. Instead, ask about their life, their problems, and their behaviors. Facts about their past actions are more reliable than opinions about your future product.
Signals that you are onto something
After 15-20 interviews, patterns emerge. Look for these signals:
From validation to action
Validation does not mean certainty. It means you have reduced the risk enough to justify the next step. Build the smallest possible version of your product that addresses the top pain point from your interviews. Ship it to the five people who were most enthusiastic. Their feedback on a real product is worth more than 100 hypothetical conversations.