The Trap of Seeking Validation and the Importance of Paying Customers

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This chapter discusses the common trap of seeking validation for business ideas instead of looking for evidence that the idea might be wrong. It emphasizes the importance of actively searching for reasons why something might be wrong and spending time on that analysis. The chapter also explores the misconception that a free plan or freemium model is a validation signal for a business when, in reality, it is just the product working as intended and does not guarantee revenue. The importance of having paying customers in a freemium business model is highlighted, along with the challenges faced in converting free users into paying customers.

Founders often listen to the wrong signals when validating their businesses. Let's dive into common validation traps today.

I see three major traps indie hackers have to face: 1) confusing users with customers, 2) getting a bit too much support from our founder peers, and 3) listening to the wrong segments of our user base.

Why do we listen to the wrong people? Founder optimism! We have a built-in confirmation bias — otherwise, we'd never do something as stupid as building our own business... Here's why we fall prey to it, how it works, and how we can escape the trap.

This episode is sponsored by Acquire.com

The blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/business-validation-traps/

The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/episodes/283-business-validation-traps

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