Does Anyone Actually Want This?

I recently met a founder named Jeff over Zoom, he had spent the past year building a marketing company, and I assumed he was about to tell me how well it was going.

When he showed me what he had built, I was genuinely impressed. It solved a real problem that a lot of businesses have, but then he told me he was probably going to shut it down because he hadn't been able to generate enough revenue.

I was surprised, so I started asking a few questions.

"How many clients do you have?"

"3."

"What do they pay?"

"Nothing. They're all on a free pilot."

"How many people have you actually made a paid offer to?"

"Other than those 3...none."

He had spent an entire year building a business without asking anyone to buy it. Ironically, I was sitting right there, I had the exact problem his service solved, I could have been a potential customer, and he never even offered.

Jeff isn't unusual. I think it's one of the biggest traps founders fall into.

Starting a business is exciting, there are freedoms and opportunities I never experienced working for someone else, but there are also lows that most people never see. Every time you put yourself or your idea into the world, you risk hearing "no," and when your business is new, it's easy to confuse someone rejecting your idea with someone rejecting you.

So instead of asking the market, we build. We tweak the product, redesign the website, create more content, and convince ourselves we're making progress because building feels productive and don't get me wrong, it is productive, until it becomes avoidance.

At some point, every business has to answer the same question:

Does anyone actually want this?

The only way to find out is to put your idea in front of other humans. You have to make offers, ask for feedback, and listen to the response. If people don't want what you're building, it’s way better to find after 10 conversations than after 10 months of building.

If you're building something right now, don't spend another month guessing. Talk to people, make the offer, and let the market tell you if your idea is right or you need to try again.