"If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." or whatever the quote is.
There are tons of businesses selling products that are ideas brought to life from scratching their own itch or simply a desire to make something and put it out there.
Personally, I am one of those people who started a business based on an idea with no validation before launching it.
I built it in its entirety, then went to places and people who I expected would want it and low-and-behold, I am making a living doing it.
> There are tons of businesses selling products that are ideas brought to life from scratching their own itch or simply a desire to make something and put it out there.
I'd bet money that the number of businesses which fail because they boil down to "a solution in search of a problem" is vastly larger than the number of businesses that succeeded despite performing "no validation".
That said, "making something" and "starting a business" are two different things. I would challenge you to point out where in the post he argues against making something, especially for the reasons you mention.
> I am one of those people who started a business based on an idea with no validation before launching it. I built it in its entirety, then went to places and people who I expected would want it and low-and-behold, I am making a living doing it.
Consider the possibility that you're in the minority there, and that you succeeded despite performing no validation.
> Sorry, this is bogus.
So if it doesn't apply to you personally, or in all cases, then you dismiss it as "bogus", full stop? Are you in the habit of doing this often?
Also, for future reference, it's "lo-and-behold", not "low-and-behold". [1]
> That said, "making something" and "starting a business" are two different things. I would challenge you to point out where in the post he argues against making something, especially for the reasons you mention.
The author states up directly, "Don’t make a website or an app. Don’t build a system".
Starting a business doesn't have to follow any real "formula". It can be a step in the beginning, middle, or end of a process. Yes, you should have the ingredients for a cake before you bake it, but you don't need to find someone who will eat your cake before you bake one or offer it for sale and you sure as shit don't need to "find real people whose problem you can solve. You listen deeply to find their dream scenario."
> Consider the possibility that you're in the minority there, and that you succeeded despite performing no validation, rather than because of it.
While I never claimed it was due to not performing validation, we can clarify that yes, it is not due to this, it is despite not doing it. Validation itself can be found in successful sales or other means, it does not need to be done pre-market and there are many examples of this, aside from the horses quote I provided.
And yes, I, in the same way the author declares it, declare it as bogus because these rules do not need to be followed in the way the author claims.
The post is riddled with questionable content, IMO, made to hit the wannapreneur market.
I don't dare tell someone how to start a business. It's their business, it's their journey, they should do it how they want.
"If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." or whatever the quote is.
There are tons of businesses selling products that are ideas brought to life from scratching their own itch or simply a desire to make something and put it out there.
Personally, I am one of those people who started a business based on an idea with no validation before launching it.
I built it in its entirety, then went to places and people who I expected would want it and low-and-behold, I am making a living doing it.