Ask HN: What's the hardest part of validating a new idea?
2 comments
I used to tell founders that if they can't figure out how to find the right people to get feedback from early, they're also not going to be able to find the right people to sell to later.
The logistics are the same at either end of the process.
If they expect to hire a salesperson once they have a product, why not hire a research panel vendor or a firm like GLG to get validation?
If they want to own their sales and customer acquisition channels once they have a product, they have to figure out how to build an audience to get validation.
Is it a dark art of hustle and luck, or is it just marketing, and most founders don't want to do that?
The only difference is what you're selling, but the process is equivalent.
The logistics are the same at either end of the process.
If they expect to hire a salesperson once they have a product, why not hire a research panel vendor or a firm like GLG to get validation?
If they want to own their sales and customer acquisition channels once they have a product, they have to figure out how to build an audience to get validation.
Is it a dark art of hustle and luck, or is it just marketing, and most founders don't want to do that?
The only difference is what you're selling, but the process is equivalent.
Thank you, this is a crucial point.
On existing solutions (GLG / building an audience): This is the practical fork in the road you're highlighting.
Outsource (GLG, panel vendors): Effective but often cost-prohibitive for a bootstrapping founder validating a risky idea. It's a capital-intensive solution to an information problem.
In-house (Build an audience/marketing): This is the "correct" long-term answer. But here's the rub: Building an audience is a product in itself, requiring months/years of consistent effort before you can use it to validate your current idea. The founder's dilemma is they need feedback now to decide if they should spend 2 years building the audience.
On existing solutions (GLG / building an audience): This is the practical fork in the road you're highlighting.
Outsource (GLG, panel vendors): Effective but often cost-prohibitive for a bootstrapping founder validating a risky idea. It's a capital-intensive solution to an information problem.
In-house (Build an audience/marketing): This is the "correct" long-term answer. But here's the rub: Building an audience is a product in itself, requiring months/years of consistent effort before you can use it to validate your current idea. The founder's dilemma is they need feedback now to decide if they should spend 2 years building the audience.
The hypothesis is that "finding qualified, willing respondents" is the single biggest bottleneck, eating more time and morale than crafting the idea itself.
To move beyond anecdotes, I've put together a short, anonymous survey focused on past behaviors (not future promises):
https://validatey.vercel.app/s/coy8ikw
Why this might be interesting for HN:
The discussion here often focuses on building and scaling, but the very first step — zero-to-one validation — is still largely a dark art of hustle and luck.
If the data shows a clear pattern, it could inform better tools or methodologies for the community.
I will publish a full analysis of the aggregated data (anonymized, with charts and key takeaways) in a follow-up post.
So, two ways to contribute:
Comment below with your war story or most effective hack.
Spend 5 minutes on the survey for a more structured data point
The goal is to turn anecdotal frustration into something actionable. All insights will be shared back with the community.