Lessons Learned from the First Year:

⭐ Get SOMETHING Out There ASAP 

Getting our first AI tool live was super important.
It let people know we existed.
But, more importantly, it got people talking and sharing it.
This led to a massive influx of new registered users.

Sometimes, we’re moving too slowly. That’s my fault. Speed matters!

⭐ Gather Email Addresses

You need to be able to reach these early users.
Later, you’ll have something really interesting for them.
But, for now, offer them something (even something for free) and collect their contact information.
You don’t want to miss the opportunity to stay in touch and get their feedback.

⭐ Go Niche’. Like, Super Niche’

You need to pick a super narrow niche’ that you understand.
You need to solve a well-defined small problem.
You can grow later.
For now, find something niche’.

✅ Example: We have an AI powered startup accelerator.
It helps people go from Idea to MVP.
That is a pretty defined niche.

BUT!

There are many smaller segments inside that ‘Idea to MVP’ journey.

We could narrow our focus to just idea validation.
Or just MVP development.
Or just ONE PART of MVP development.
Or just one specific part of idea validation.

✅ Actually, we’re working on narrowing the focus around here!

⭐ It’s Going to Take Several Tries to Figure it Out

Guilty! 🙋‍♂️

Still figuring it all out myself.

Nothing happens overnight.
So, don’t put a ton of pressure on yourself.

✅ Focus on talking to potential customers to uncover a big need.

✅ Then, brainstorm solutions that might solve this problem.

✅ Then, roll out one of these solutions and see what these customers think.

Are they interested? Do they want something else?

🤷‍♀️ It’s all trial and error.
And, discovery and product market fit usually take a while to figure out.

⭐ Make a Paid Product

You really can’t learn much from your audience until you put a product out there and charge for it.

Will you have anyone interested?

Is this product on the right track?

✅ This won’t be your final product — not even close! So don’t stress over it.

But you need to see if people are willing to pay for a solution.

AND, you need to talk to those early customers about the problem and solution — EVEN IF THEY ARE DISSATISFIED EARLY CUSTOMERS.

⭐ Stay Engaged with the Audience

I truly feel like we’re working on something here, at Val, that will change the way people start businesses.

It’s taking a long time, but we’re learning from all of you every day.

👉 It is helpful that we have a newsletter so we can get feedback from you.

The newsletter helps us announce new developments, but it also ensures that you don’t forget about us 🚀

⭐ Tell People What You’re Up to on Social Media

Every time we post something about our project, it seems to lead to something. An introduction, a lead on a B2B customer, etc.

Posting also keeps you accountable.

Once you’ve put it out there that you’re working on something, you’ve committed yourself to the project.

Post what you’re working on and see if anyone in your network can help!

We have a LONG way to go here. But it’s been a lot of fun so far!

⭐ Deep dive into ideas and how to move them forward at ValidatorAI.com
Our AI covers things to consider, target market ideas, revenue models, how to modify your idea to fit the market and much more. It’s FREE!