Pre-sell with money-back guarantee before building to validate payment willingness
Only validation that matters is collecting money. Friends saying they'd pay is dangerous validation. Pre-sell licenses with tiered pricing for FOMO, offer full money-back guarantee during build and after delivery. This proves real willingness to pay before investing months building.
When to use
When you have an idea and audience but haven't built product yet
Don't do this
Building for 3 months based on positive feedback, then launching to excuses about why people won't pay
3 Founders Who Did This
Pre-sold 50 lifetime licenses for $20K in 2-3 days with money-back guarantee before writing code
Used deposit framework to collect $500 refundable deposit before building product - first payment from billion-dollar company in February 2024
Posted LinkedIn poll offering 99 LinkedIn hacks for $99, requiring minimum 99 buyers before committing to build, collected $10,000 before creating any content