Playbooks
Test your idea with a signup page before building
Before writing any code, describe the product on a simple page and find at least one more person with the same problem who says they would pay. Build only if people sign up.
The hard part: finding other people with the same manual workaround and getting real answers instead of polite interest.
Who pays
This is a method for deciding what to build, so it does not earn money by itself. The money comes later, from the people who sign up or pay for a small paid test before the product exists. Our suggestion is a small pre-order or a paid first task through a payment link. This pricing is a suggestion, and the sources do not report revenue from using this method.
How to build it
Write down the exact complaint
Save the complaint in the person's own words. Then write out the last time it happened, including the manual workaround they used.
Find a second person
Look in the same forum, subreddit, or group for one more person who uses the same workaround. Ask them how often it happens and what it costs them in time.
Name the smallest paid fix
Describe the smallest paid task that removes the workaround. Ask Claude to help turn it into a short, plain offer with one price.
Put up a one-page offer
Publish the offer on a free Webflow page with a signup form, or with a Stripe Payment Link for a pre-order or small paid test.
Share it where those people are
Post the page in the places where you found the complaint, and send it directly to the people you spoke with.
Build or drop the idea
Set a deadline, such as one or two weeks. If people join or pay, start building. If the page stays quiet, drop the idea and move on.
Sources on X
- arthurmrie · Sep 28, 2026
arthurmrie says they almost spent a month building HeroTalk, a Chrome extension for one-click LinkedIn comments, which launched in August with two trial users and zero customers. Their new rule is to put up the page first, build if people join, and drop the idea if the page stays quiet.
- alexfoundr · Sep 30, 2026
alexfoundr says they used to start coding after a single forum complaint. Now they first save the exact wording, rebuild the last time it happened including the manual workaround, find one other person with the same workaround, and ask whether they would pay for the smallest task that removes it.
Ideas are curated from public posts and untested by us. Read the full note.