How to validate your SaaS idea with the power of hustle
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This is a roundabout way to ask which product development strategy is better:
- Identifying a potential problem/solution match and then validating it via conversation
- Choosing a potential client/market and discovering a problem/solution match via conversation
The reason I pose this is because my partner and I are currently attempting the second method. We have interviews lined up with potential SaaS clients, and we are going in with the mindset of "What are your pains? What could we build to remove this pain?". Now I am wondering if it is better to go to prospects with a solution in mind and get more focused feedback.
Does anyone who has gone through the SaaS product/market development process care to weigh in?
When you are first interviewing your target customers you really want to gain a deep understanding for their pains and a sense of empathy for how their pains rank on the totem pole of "I will pay you money now to solve this problem" to "It sucks.. but the system we have now works".
Once you've had those first round of interviews go back to them with a prototype (this can be paper, or just marketing material) and have another conversation. It's a great way to start building a solution people will actually care for, and build a small customer base at the same time.