Most founders believe they need a finished product before they can validate it in the market.

That's a myth, and it's actually the risky way to do it.

You can spend months, even years, building a hardware product and still end up with something that barely sells once it finally hits the market.

Sometimes that happens because a few things weren't aligned before production started, like features, pricing, or messaging.

Those problems aren't fatal when you catch them early, but once the product is built and packaged, every change becomes expensive and slow.

Validation gives you a chance to learn what matters before you lock yourself into a path that's tough to undo.

Watch the full video here:

The Biggest Hardware Myth: You Can't Validate Without a Prototype

For my own product, which was a miniature lighting device, I presented the concept to a national retail chain using just a crude, non-functional prototype.

They expressed interest and provided a letter stating they wanted to carry it when it became available.

That simple letter helped secure a manufacturing partner who lent their engineering department to help finish development, invested over $100,000 in tooling, and offered payment terms of 90 days.

Without real validation, none of that would've happened.

So how do you actually validate a product that doesn't exist yet?

It starts with talking to strangers, the same type of people you eventually hope will buy your product.

Friends and family want to be supportive, so their feedback is almost useless for this.

There's also a simple trick that changes the quality of feedback you get.

If you present yourself as the inventor, people sense you're emotionally invested and they'll soften their punches.

But if you present yourself as someone evaluating the idea for possible investment, they tend to relax and speak honestly.

Conversations are a great start, but the first rule of product validation is simple: nothing matters unless money actually changes hands.

So this is where a reservation funnel comes in.

You ask potential customers to put down a small fee, usually just $1 to $10, to hold one of the first units when it launches.

Pulling out a credit card, even for a dollar, requires real purchase intent.

You suddenly have proof this isn't just theoretical interest.

Validation doesn't slow you down, it stops you from racing in the wrong direction.

Build with proof rather than hope, and almost everything else in the journey becomes easier.

Talk soon,
John