Before You Build That MVP, Check Reddit
Adib ZouitenIf you're any good at development (like me 😅) or just enjoy the process, you tend to skip validation and jump straight ahead to making your MVP. I totally get it. The feedback loop of validating an idea via the market is super long, but there is a better way...
🚨 The Real Cost of Building Without Validation
Building ahead is suicide. I don't know about you, but building is not free. It takes time, effort, and most importantly, money. Just one smart move can make it all worth it. Even the simplest MVP requires hosting costs, countless hours of coding, and usually a few paid tools along the way. Not to mention the opportunity cost - every hour spent building something nobody wants is an hour you could have spent building something people are actually begging for.
🔍 Reddit: Your Free Validation Tool
Use Reddit for super quick validation. You don't have to make a landing page, hold user interviews, or create surveys no one will fill out (I've been there multiple times). If you think about it, Reddit is a public library of people's experiences, struggles, and frustrations. A smart founder would use that to their advantage. Instead of waiting weeks for landing page traffic or chasing people down for interviews, you can get real, unfiltered feedback from your target users right now. These aren't polite responses in user interviews - they're raw, honest problems being shared in the wild.
⚙️ How to Use Reddit for Validation
You can go on relevant subreddits and search for people who have the problem you're solving. You might find that no one needs what you're building - and that's good! You save yourself time, effort, and money. Or in some cases, you could find some super interesting insights that could take your idea from a 3/10 to a 10/10. During your research, you could even find better problems to solve. The best part? These insights come from real conversations where people aren't trying to be nice or tell you what you want to hear. They're just openly sharing their frustrations, workarounds, and what they wish existed.
🛠️ A Free Tool to Help
I've been using Reddit for a while to do this, but the research on Reddit itself is not the best - there is so much manual work to be done. I made a tool for myself last week and made it public and free for all. Have fun with it and good luck finding killer ideas!