How do you validate a Micro SaaS idea before writing a single line of code?

[seoguyy]

I have seen many developers spend weeks building a SaaS that never gets users.
Before you start coding, how do you validate whether an idea has real demand?

 

[Steptoe]

Look to see if anyone is actually asking about the concept your theoretical SaaS is focusing on, and look for pain points about the concept/area being discussed about on Reddit.

 

[MegaSmith]

I try to get proof that people will actually pay before building anything. Talking to potential users, putting up a simple landing page, or even trying to pre-sell the idea usually tells you a lot faster than spending weeks coding.

 

[seoguyy]

I try to get proof that people will actually pay before building anything. Talking to potential users, putting up a simple landing page, or even trying to pre-sell the idea usually tells you a lot faster than spending weeks coding.

Yeah, pre selling is probably the strongest signal out of all of those, people saying they'd use it means nothing, people actually paying means everything. Landing page plus waitlist works too but I have seen plenty of 500 email signups turn into 2 paying customers at launch.

 

[XSMMDoctor]

@seoguyy is right about the waitlist trap... emails are easy to get but they rarely convert. If you want real validation without wasting months coding, you need to run a fake door test. Just build a clean landing page, put a pricing table with a "Buy Now" button, and hook it up to a stripe form. When they try to pay, you trigger a message saying "we are currently at capacity, enter email to get notified when we open next slot" or something similar. Run maybe $50-100 of targeted google search ads to it. If people actually click through to enter their card info, you know theres real buying intent. If nobody clicks the buy button, you just saved yourself 3 months of dev work.

 

[NulledCode]

@seoguyy is right about the waitlist trap... emails are easy to get but they rarely convert. If you want real validation without wasting months coding, you need to run a fake door test. Just build a clean landing page, put a pricing table with a "Buy Now" button, and hook it up to a stripe form. When they try to pay, you trigger a message saying "we are currently at capacity, enter email to get notified when we open next slot" or something similar. Run maybe $50-100 of targeted google search ads to it. If people actually click through to enter their card info, you know theres real buying intent. If nobody clicks the buy button, you just saved yourself 3 months of dev work.

This is actually a really good idea. It shows people willing to spend money and now you just created FOMO by making your thing seem exclusive with limited availability. I'm going to have to try this next time around.