Do you validate your ideas before start coding?

Question

I could not validate any of my startup ideas, most people do not respond, from those who respond I get inconclusive results. Should I still try to validate the idea before coding or just create an MVP and see how it goes? What are your thoughts?

muzani · Accepted Answer

Landing pages, surveys, waitlists don't work anymore. Coding is a necessary part of validation. Give them something to touch and play with and they'll give you more accurate feedback. Hackathon style coding is faster too. Make disposable prototypes.
The best successes I've worked with have been
1. A keto recipe app with hardcoded recipes made in two weeks. Users told me the way I displayed it was confusing and that it needed carb counts. I did the fixes and they started throwing money at me.
2. A social media app for complaints. Turns out people wanted social media for a small area, e.g. everyone in an apartment area. It ended up being a visitor management/appointment kind of app with social media features.

kkcorps · Answer

I think it depends on the idea. Generally, you should patch together something as a beta and roll it out to community/friends/family for feedback. But if it is something that will take almost a year for a beta then you should spend time validating as well.

streetcat1 · Answer

No. Too small of a sample. I do however try to attack a "red ocean" market (markets with a lot of competitors), I.e. I basically let other do the validation for me.