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Why we picked it Most validation advice tells you to keep talking to users but never tells you when you are done. This piece gives you five concrete readiness checks (direct payment evidence, a one-sentence customer definition, 10 or more real pain-confirming conversations, a real edge, and the financial capacity to be wrong) and a plain rule: score four or five yeses and you build. It also names the trap directly, that validation past four weeks is just burning the runway you were trying to protect. Treat it as a starting checklist, not a verdict.
Build an MVP or Validate First? How to Decide
From Proof Engine ~10 min read
- Validation should take two to four weeks; beyond that you are procrastinating, not de-risking.
- The clearest signal is direct payment evidence (pre-orders, letters of intent, card signups), not enthusiastic conversations.
- Score your readiness across five questions: four or five yeses means build, zero or one means keep validating.