Hello, Aron here.

This week we meet two fictional founders who have landed on the same idea. We’re going to follow them through the week and see who actually gets somewhere on Friday.

PS: Don’t steal the idea that I give you in the next newsletter. :)

Meet Marcus and David.

Marcus is 23. 
No savings, no corporate background. He has two years deep in the side hustle and flipping world on Reddit, buying and reselling small content sites and Shopify stores as a hobby, with a decent reputation in those communities for spotting good deals.

David is 46. 
Fifteen years in corporate M&A, most recently leading deal teams at a mid-size tech company before a layoff six months ago. He has savings, a sharp eye for due diligence, and a close friend, Priya, Director of Corporate Development at Salesforce. This is his shot at building something of his own.

Both happen to be in a coffee shop at the same time today. David is sitting with a business connection, discussing his new idea:

Marcus overhears this conversation and thinks:

“Uh oh. I’m cooked here. This guy seems like a seasoned businessman with endless connections.”

Both exit the coffee shop and get to work, using their personal resources the best they can. Let’s see what they do on the first two days this week. 👇

Monday: Marcus

Marcus has watched three site deals fall apart from scams in just the last month in r/SideProject. At 7PM he enters his idea into a website that validates startup ideas. The feedback flags something: pick one category to start with instead of trying to support every type of online business on day one.

• He picks content sites and small Shopify stores under $1,000/month revenue.

By 9PM he spins up a rough landing page on Base44, just a waitlist signup and a short explanation of what he’s working on. He posts in r/SideProject:

"Tired of watching people get scammed buying small sites. Building a new marketplace for small websites with revenue. Would you use it? (link)"

The response is mixed.
A few people are into it. One comment somewhat stings:

Another asks how he'll actually verify revenue, since "anyone can fake a screenshot." 10 waitlist signups by the time he goes to bed. Some interest, lots of skepticism. He goes to bed a little defeated and embarassed.

Monday: David

David spends the morning thinking through market size, then opens a fresh Google Doc: Business Plan v1.

In the evening he calls Priya. She picks up, and it's a great ten minutes. She tells him something he didn't know:

It's a sharp insight that energizes David.
David adds a new section to the plan: Trust & Verification Layer. He sketches out a manual review process where his team would personally vet each listing. He starts thinking about the headcount to make this possible.

He closes his laptop feeling good. A beneficial conversation, with an expert, and a solid insight to build around. He goes to bed fired up for tomorrow.

Tuesday

Marcus spends the morning replying to the skeptical comments instead of ignoring them. A few people who pushed back actually soften, one says he'd use it:

"If there was a real way to prove the numbers weren't fake." 

Another wants to see:

David spends the day fleshing out the verification section of the business plan. Six pages now on that section alone. It’s starting to come together. He texts Priya to thank her again and asks if she knows anyone who's "actually bought a small site before." She says she'll think about it.

He fires up a pitch deck generator and starts researching market size, competitors, value propositions and adds a section for investors in case he wants to tap his network for financial help.

So that's Monday and Tuesday.

• Marcus has genuine interest, but a few big problems around trust and distribution staring at him in the Reddit comments.

• David doesn't have a customer yet, but he has a sharp insight from someone who's actually done deals, and he's building a solid plan around it.

VOTE! 
Which founder will be further along by the end of the week?

The tools each founder is using

Let’s see what unfolds.
Talk soon.

Aron Meystedt
Chief Data Nerd - ValidatorAI

👬 Let’s connect on LinkedIn!

If you are completely stuck, generate a new idea and test it, safely:

👉 Generate a new concept with the Business Idea Generator

This email may contain promotional links. We never recommend a company we wouldn’t use ourselves. We decline 9 out of 10 ads that come our way.