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...

How to pre-sell before you build anything