ValidationProven Pattern

Validate product concepts by posting direct questions to target communities before building

Instead of building first, post your concept with a direct question ('too aggressive?', 'would you use this?') to communities where your target users hang out. The discussion reveals both interest level and critical feedback that shapes product decisions.

When to use

When you have a product concept but haven't started building yet - especially for controversial or novel features where user reaction is uncertain

Don't do this

Building in stealth mode then being surprised by negative user reactions at launch

3 Founders Who Did This

1
Email Condom/Sentryby Alexey Anshakov

Posted on Indie Hackers asking if GDPR complaint generator was 'too aggressive' before MVP launch

Result:Community validated the concept ('exactly the right friction'), provided positioning feedback, and confirmed they would try the product
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2
StageTimerby Lucas Hermann

Posted once to a hidden niche subreddit for video production with no price attached, saying "Hey, try it out. Give me some feedback. What do you think? Is this useful to you?"

Result:Got 58 upvotes and people made literal lists of feature requests, saying they had been waiting for such an app
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3
lemlistby Guillaume Moubeche

Posted concept in Facebook group of cold email experts to find beta testers since he had no money for ads. Post went viral and attracted 100+ beta users before launch

Result:Validated demand so strongly that a competitor immediately tried to copy the feature, confirming market need
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