⭐️ Today’s Highlights:

🧪 The 4 levels of real startup validation (and which ones actually matter)
🚫 Why signups, likes, and compliments don’t mean your idea is good
🛠 The $0 tool stack I use to test new business ideas fast
📊 A 10-point validation scorecard to decide if your idea’s worth building

🧠 The 4 Levels of Real Validation

Most “validation” looks like this:

“I told my friends, and they said it was cool.”
Yeah? Your mom likes your idea too.

Here’s what real validation actually looks like, In order of increasing strength:

Level 1: Signal

• People engage with the problem you’re solving

• You get comments, replies, DMs, feedback
   ✅ Great for refining your messaging
   ❌ Not strong enough to build yet

Test it with:

• Threads/LinkedIn posts

• Reddit comments

• Twitter polls

Level 2: Action

• People sign up, join a waitlist, or give their email
   ✅ Shows they care enough to opt in
   ❌ Still easy to fake intent

Test it with:

• A Carrd, Lovable, Macaly, or Framer landing page

• Lead magnet (guide, template, quiz)

• Call-to-action with deadline

Level 3: Dollars

• Someone gives you MONEY (pre-orders, deposits, early access)
   ✅ Strong buy signal
   ✅ You’ve got proof they want this, not just like it

Test it with:

• Stripe payment page

• Venmo QR code if you have to 

• Pre-sale launch via email

• “Buy now, launch later” pricing offer

• Lifetime access offering

Level 4: Stickiness

• Users come back, refer others, or get results
   ✅ This is PMF-level validation
   ✅ Build here, scale here

Test it with:

• Closed beta

• Live MVP + onboarding

• Usage logs and testimonials

🛠 The $0 Validation Stack

You don’t need to hire a team or pay for tools to validate.
Here’s the stack I’ve actually used (and still do):

• Carrd – One-page site builder that converts

• Tally – Waitlist or “Buy Now” forms

• Gumroad – Pre-selling MVPs

• Reddit – Raw feedback from real users

• Google Sheets – Early CRM for beta users

• Beehiiv Referral – Validates if people will share it

• ChatGPT + Claude – To pressure-test your idea from different angles

🧠 What Actually Counts as Validation?

✔️ Cold emails turn into Zoom calls
✔️ People sign up without ads
✔️ Someone pays you before launch
✔️ Referrals happen without asking
✔️ Beta testers actually use the product more than once

❌ What Doesn’t Count?

✘ Your friends said “That’s dope”
✘ 3 likes on a Twitter post
✘ You think it’s needed because you’d use it
✘ You spent 3 weeks building the MVP and “want to try it anyway”

📌 Patty’s Pro Tip:

Before you commit to building anything, ask yourself:

“If I stripped this idea down to one page, could I still get people excited enough to pay or sign up?”

If not? You don’t have an MVP problem.
You have a VALIDATION problem.

Final Thought:

Every product starts as a theory.
Validation turns it into a plan.

If you’re afraid to test it, you’re not ready to build it.

You can: Spend 30 days validating and launch with momentum, Or spend 6 months building something that flops on day one. 

REMEMBER: 

Test before you build.

Validate before you invest.

Ask before you assume.

🎁 Want My Personal Validation Scorecard?

I put together a 1-pager I use to score every new business idea before I touch a line of code.

✅ Scoring from 0–100
✅ Takes 5 minutes
✅ Free (because I like you)

→ [Reply to this email with “SCORECARD” and I’ll send it your way.]

DON’T FORGET TO GET ROASTED!

Patty’s Picks

These are a few of my favorite finds this week. No sponsors, no fluff. Just tools I’ve actually used to test ideas, launch faster, and avoid wasting months building something no one wants.

📕 Article: How to Validate Your Startup Without Writing a Line of Code
This Indie Hackers post features stories from founders who launched fast, validated early, and avoided wasting time on untested ideas. Includes examples of landing pages, waitlists, and scrappy MVPs.
→ Read it here

🛠 Tool: Tally.so – The Fastest Way to Build Waitlists
Create a clean pre-launch form in under 5 minutes. No code, no weird design. Just a link you can drop in Threads, LinkedIn, or your landing page to collect real signal.

📘 Free Resource: The Validation Scorecard (Editable)
Rate your startup idea across 10 real-world factors to see if it’s worth building.
→ Open the scorecard here (insert your hosted Notion or Google Sheet link)

🛠 Tool: Carrd – One-Page MVP
A founder’s secret weapon. Spin up a landing page to test your messaging, pricing, and offer — before you even build the product. Use it to collect emails, validate interest, and run early 

👋 Got an idea you’re building and want a PMF gut check?

I’ll give you my honest take — no fluff, no pitch.

Let’s make sure you’re building the right thing, for the right market, in the right way.

– Patrick

Want more from me?

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