How to know if your idea is good (without asking for opinions)

Gracie Van

Jul 24, 2025

ANOTHER DAY
ANOTHER STARTUP STRATEGY

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When I started my first ever business,
I thought it was amazing,
I thought it was on trend,
I felt the spark.

I was sure I nailed it.

But then… doubt creeps in.

So… I did what most founders do:

I asked everyone I knew.

“Do you think this is a good idea?”
”Would you buy it?”

Friends.
Mentors.
Strangers in startup group chat/forum.

I even pitched it to my mom.
(She said it was amazing, obviously!).

They all gave me different answers.

One says, “This exists already.”
Another says, “This is genius.”
Someone else says, “Good luck!”

And then… I was stuck.

A lot of feedback.
But no momentum.

I bet every founder was once in the same situation.

You think gathering opinions is smart.
You think you're “validating” idea.

You’re not.

You’re outsourcing belief.
You’re collecting opinions to feel safe… instead of testing behavior to learn truth.

And no matter how many people say “this could work,”
you still don’t know if someone will click, sign up, or pay.

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You spend $5 on coffee without thinking twice EVERY DAY.

But you hesitate on $10/month for startup shortcuts, real case studies, plug-and-play playbooks, and a private founder community — that could change your life?

That math isn’t mathing.

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The hidden belief that’s holding you back

Every founder heard the same advice:

“Get feedback before you build.”
“Talk to your users.”
“Validate early.”

All good advice… in theory.
But it’s misapplied.

You think validation means opinions.
But it should mean observable actions.

The faulty belief is this:
You think if someone says yes, they mean yes.

They don’t.

People say yes to be polite.
They say yes because they like you.
They say yes to feel smart.

In fact, the people closest to you are the worst validators.

They want to be supportive.
They don’t want to hurt your feelings.
And they’re not your target customer anyway.

You should know, in business, the only real “yes” is when someone gives you time, attention, or money.

My favourite startup memes of 2023 - by Jeroen Coelen

What happens if you don’t shift?

You stay stuck in idea-land.

You:

Build in circles
Tweak logos, landing pages, and messaging
Waste time
Burn out
And worst of all — quit… thinking you were the problem

You weren’t.
Your process was.

So what actually works?

Offer, don’t ask.

Instead of asking, “Do you like this?”

Say:

“Here’s what I made. You want to try it?”
“If 10 people DM me, I’ll drop the link.”
“Pre-order for $5. I’ll deliver in 7 days.”

This small change forces a real-world reaction.

Let me show you how this plays out in real life:

Example: The screenshot test

Let's say you’re building a tool that turns voice notes into structured to-do lists for busy teams.

Instead of building it out, you post this on social media first:

“What if your team could drop voice notes… and instantly get clean, organized task lists synced to Notion or Trello?
I’m working on a micro-SaaS that does just that.
Here’s a screenshot of the UI👇.
Comment “YES” and I’ll send you the link to test”

You get 27 comments and a few curious DMs.

That’s real signal.

You didn’t ask for opinions.
You made an ask for action.

See the difference?

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“But what if no one replies?”

That’s actually even better.

It means you’ve just learned, for free, that your idea isn’t strong yet.

And now you can adjust.
New audience? New format? New angle?

This is how founders learn fast.
Not by theorizing — but by shipping small bets, watching the result, and tweaking.

The market tells you more in 48 hours than a mentor will in 6 months.

In short: collect actions, not opinions

This doesn’t mean you build the whole product.
You just build enough to test:

A tweet with a call to action
A 1-page landing page with a sign-up form
A cold DM to your ideal customer
A 3-day free trial with a Stripe paywall

And watch what happens.

You’ll get more truth in those moments than in 100 brainstorms and 100 answers to the question “Do you like this?”

—

Talk soon,

Gracie from What A Startup

If you enjoyed this read, the best compliment I could receive would be if you shared it.

P.S. Your mom saying “it’s a good idea” doesn’t count. Unless she’s your target customer… and a VC.