Episode #66
Sell First, Build Second
Your product isn't selling because you built it before validating demand. Sell first with a landing page, then build what people actually pay for.
9 min 11s
Video and audio in Dutch
Listen on:Spotify
Your product isn't selling because you built it before validating demand. Sell first with a landing page, then build what people actually pay for.
Video and audio in Dutch
In this episode, Paul Veth explains why most entrepreneurs struggle to sell: they build before they validate. Falling in love with your own product or service causes you to ignore the clearest feedback signal available, which is the absence of buyers.
Paul applied the sell-first method when building Identity First Media, a B2B platform that creates AI-optimized online presence for experts. He built a design mockup in five to ten minutes per prospect, sent it to 20 to 50 people, and asked if they wanted it. Two entrepreneurs said yes and asked for an invoice before the product existed. That was the proof of concept. He then scaled outreach to another 50 people and saw consistent engagement before writing a single line of code.
Paul worked inside a major international telecom company that spent two years building a new subscription model. The launch included a national television campaign, in-store activations across all Dutch retail locations, and international rollout across multiple countries. Three months after launch, the subscription model was shut down. Nobody wanted it. The entire investment, in time, budget and team capacity, could have been avoided by testing demand with a small group of customers before building anything.
If you test 10 product ideas with landing pages over ten weeks, you have data fast, cash flow if people pay, and the ability to iterate without burning your runway. Build all 10 first and you might quit before idea number ten ever gets a fair shot.
It means you validate demand before building your product or service. You create a landing page with either a waiting list or a live payment option. If people sign up or pay, you have proof of demand. Only then do you start building. This avoids wasting time and money on something nobody wants.
The soft method uses a waiting list: people sign up and you set a threshold before you start building. The hard method uses a real buy button where people pay in full or as an advance. Payment is stronger proof of demand than a sign-up, and it gives you cash flow to fund the build.
Paul created a quick design mockup of the product in five to ten minutes per prospect and sent it to 20 to 50 people asking if they were interested. Two entrepreneurs immediately asked for an invoice. He had not written a line of code yet. That payment was his proof of concept before building anything.
Paul says entrepreneurs fall in love with their own idea. That emotional attachment causes them to ignore the market's clearest signal, which is that nobody is buying. Validation feels like doubt, but it is actually the fastest path to a product that sells.
Paul estimates that if you talk to real customers during validation, you will find a working concept by your third to fifth idea. Testing with landing pages means you can run through ten ideas in ten weeks instead of spending months building something before discovering it does not sell.
Want to learn more or collaborate? Feel free to reach out.
Get in touchThe 'sell first, build second' approach challenges everything most builders are taught: finish the product, then find customers. Have you ever tested demand before building, and what did you learn from it that you couldn't have learned any other way?
