Essay · 7 min read
The Letter of Intent Fallacy
Alice Bentinck · Entrepreneurs First Free Intermediate
Bentinck ran a talent investor and watched founders wave signed LOIs as proof, then watched those same customers walk. Her point is exactly the one you need before a pivot: a signature on a non-binding letter is a polite yes, not demand. She pushes you past the LOI theatre toward deep, named-customer commitment, which is the honest bar for betting the company.
- A signed letter of intent is a proxy that customers routinely renege on, so treating it as traction is how founders fool themselves before a pivot
- Real validation comes from time spent with named individuals: watching them work, touring their setup, understanding the pain well enough to predict what they will pay for
- Collecting LOIs as your only customer development is a shortcut that skips the nuanced work of proving someone will actually buy
