If You Buy, I Will Build

// Posted first on Reddit. I must hold myself accountable for taking the right first steps...namely validation.

I’m worn out from building (and more so thinking about) applications and projects that have no validation. I’ve been an IndieHackers lurker since day 1, but I still fail in the most predictable way every time. I’m constantly telling myself an idea is good, mapping out how to build it, putting too much time into a prototype, then never releasing anything that generates $$$.

Time to change. Looking through IH posts this morning, I hit upon Alberto Savoia’s Pretotyping lecture at Stanford (https://youtu.be/3sUozPcH4fY). In a sentence: Get them to buy it, then build it.

It’s not my first time coming across this idea (The Mom Test is a must read), but it made me feel like a total loser for not following his instructions. Fail fast and fail cheap.

So…I decided best to go the “Build in Public” route. Not sure if anyone will read this, or why you'll even care, but here it is.

Right now I have a newsletter about personal health stories (gettheplunge.com) that’s has some traction (240 subs), but it doesn’t have a clear path to revenue. That said, each email sent does feel like a “win” and it’s provided me with some confidence that I can build something people want and deliver consistently.

Some initial thoughts on finding a side project I can run with buy testing fast and cheap:

1. Prioritize B2B. I want to make money with the project. Businesses spend much more easily than consumers.

2. Learn to test. I’m clearly no expert at testing ideas. From what I can tell, building one page apps like Carrd is the right way to go. I’ll be digging into these to lower the time it takes me to test as much as possible.

3. Go to the customers. I struggle a lot with this. I know I need to talk to customers, but where are they? Reddit? Regardless, I haven’t tried to sell someone a product in years. This will be key.

I’m most interested in personal health and what wearable devices will do for the world. That said, I spend way too much time thinking about a personal app that’s going to make my life totally efficient and link my whole life together. It’s a waste of brain space. I’ve seen so many people in r/quantifiedself build these apps but I’m not convinced there’s a real product there (at least not one that people will pay for, something 10x what Apple can offer).

I’m going to test if there’s some value for apps aimed at nutritionists and personal trainers, but also look outside this space. I believe if I can learn to test faster, my eye for ideas will start looking in new places.

I ought to mention that I’m a software dev, probably the curse of me. I enjoy seeing things work more than seeing them sold.

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading. Any thoughts or feedback on my experiences and plan, suggested resources, or general advice are welcome. I feel like I ought to be posting some of this onto X as well (as part of building in public), but probably just better to post updates there.