I've been building a product for a few months now. I keep seeing advice like 'don't build until you have paying customers' and 'validate first'. But I also know that some things are hard to sell before they exist. How do you decide when to wait vs. just build? I don't want to waste time but I also don't want to launch something nobody wants.
Startup Strategy
Is it better to wait until you have paying customers?
Waiting for paying customers before you have anything to sell is like waiting for a job offer before you apply. You can do pre-sales but most people won't hand over cash for a vague idea.
I waited. Two years. Still no customers. So maybe don't listen to me.
Been there. The whole 'paying customers first' mantra is mostly survivorshi bias. The real question is whether you can find people who will commit to a pre-order, a deposit, or even a strong letter of intent. If you can't get that, you might be solving a probblem that isn't painful enough. But building a rough MVP is often the only way to get that signal. Just don't spend six months polishing something nobody asked for.
It depends on your risk tolerance. If you have savings and no dependents, build and figure it out. If you need revenue next month, you better wait or freelance on the side.
Wait? No. But don't build the whole thing either. Build a landing page with a buy button. If people click and abandon at checkout, that tells you something.
@coffee_break_99 lol that's brutal but relatable. Did you ever launch anything in the end?
@pixel_pusher finally launched last year. Got 3 customers. One was my mom. I'm not sure that counts.
Thanks, this is helpful. I think the pre-sale idea is a good middle ground. But how do you even find people to pre-sell to? Cold outreach feels sleazy.
Sleazy is just a feeling. If you genuinely believe your product solves their problem, it's not sleazy. Go where they already hang out: for ums, subreddits, LinkedIn groups. Don't pitch, just ask what sucks about their current workflow. Then offer a pre-sale to the ones who describe the exact problem you're solving, though.
Or you can run a fake ad campaign to a landing page and see if anyone enters their email. That's cheaper than building first.
Honestly, no one knows. Try something, measure, adjust. The debate will still be here when you're done.