Josh Swerdlow
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Author: josh_swerdlow Date: February 3, 2026 03:31:43

EntrepreneurshipSolopreneurBuilding in Public

Selling Something That Doesn't Exist

I recently got lost in the 'Build First Mindset' and even when I explicitly tried to get something in front of a customer, I still ended up building something too complex. I reflected on this and came a way with a few lessons that I generalized.

What can you build in 24 hours?

If you haven't completed it by then, step back and rethink it. Either you should design it to be smaller or for a simpler use case.

I really feel like this is the crux of where I went wrong. At no point was I concerned with demo's taking a bit too long because it was all casual and on the side. If this was for my actual startup, I'd probably have a fire under my ass to get it done and I'd cut the project by 90% so I can build faster. However, for these solopreneur projects, I through that out the window and even after decreasing the scope, still set myself up with a big project to maintain.

This point does NOT refer to the understanding of the problem portion of building of a product. It merely refers to the building portion of building a product. Regardless of whether you know the problem personally, have a contract to build, or need to get a demo put together before you can convince anyone: build it in a negligible amount of time.

You can take time to understand where the customer's pull is and test demand hypotheses, but don't build for more than a day between unfolding.

Tips

  1. Turn all databases into spreadsheets*
  2. Turn all 'sign ups' into Google form links*
  3. Turn all websites into 'marketing power points' (not a literal power point, but pretty much just a slideshow website)
  4. Turn all payment forms into one off links that you email
  5. Do everything yourself by hand until scripts are needed. You can do at least 1 customer by hand so you have no excuse to code.

*Or justify why it's needed and why you can't make money otherwise.

Rules

You first version should NOT be

  1. Self service: The customer can run it themself.
  2. Self checkout: The customer can pay for it without talking to you.
  3. Self onboarded: The customer can evaluate without talking to you.

Flow Chart