"Do I really need to validate an idea before building anything?"

Unless you're already in sales, in a niche, with a real sales channel, you're not going to know until you actually try to sell your idea.

In my experience, users don't care about "upcoming things." Nobody is sitting around waiting for your product. You have to have a vision, execute on that vision, and put it in front of people.

The Truth About Validation

People talk a lot about shortcuts and formulas for validation. In practice, there really isn't one. You won't know until you have a real product in front of a real user.

You can reduce risk:

• Build prototypes
• Show screens
• Have conversations
• Get reactions

Users will tell you a lot of things that make you feel good about your idea. They'll say "this is great" and "I'd totally use this."

Real Validation

But until the day you put your product up for sale and get that first dollar, you're not actually validated.

If you have deep industry insight or strong sales partners, that's different. That's a business advantage you already have.

Everyone else is taking educated stabs and accepting the risk. We can reduce that risk, but we can't eliminate it.