Money is the most honest signal
If you want to know whether someone really wants your product, ask them to pay for it before it exists.
Pre-selling is one of the strongest forms of validation. It cuts through the politeness, the curiosity, and the “sure, I’d use that.” You either have a customer with a card in hand, or you don’t.
It’s also one of the most underused tools founders have. People avoid it because it feels uncomfortable — selling something that doesn’t exist yet, asking for real money, risking rejection. That discomfort is exactly why it works. Most signals can be faked or politely given. A payment can’t.
Used carefully, pre-selling tells you in days what other validation methods take months to suggest.
What pre-selling actually is
Pre-selling means asking customers to commit f...
