Building Before Building: The Lean Startup Advantage

Of the top 50 reasons startups fail, 30 of them can be avoided by building a community before building a product. This single insight has transformed how I approach startup development and mentorship.

After guiding startups and founders for 8 years, I've observed a consistent pattern: entrepreneurs rush to build solutions before truly understanding the problems they're solving.

The number one waste of time? They invest precious time and resources into features nobody wants.

I'm developing a new framework that applies Lean Startup principles in a way that flips the traditional approach on its head. The core idea? Build a community first, then build your product.

Let me show you exactly how this works.

The Product-First Trap

Most founders fall in love with their solution rather than the problem. They build in isolation, convinced their vision will revolutionize the market.

Then reality hits. They launch to crickets.

Research shows that 75% of all startups fail according to Harvard Business School. The primary reason isn't poor product development but building the wrong product entirely.

Founders don't fail to develop products. They fail to develop customers for their products.

Start With the Market, Not the Solution

My framework begins with a broader approach to help solve many customer engagement problems founders have, from distribution to successful MVP launch.

• If you have a specific problem in mind, focus on the market segment that experiences this problem.
• If you're still exploring problems, focus on a market you want to serve and the category of problems they face.

The key insight: avoid narrowing down to a very specific customer profile too early. Until you get market pull, you won't know which problem or market segment is best to target.

Your goal is to attract people with a category of problems, not sell a specific solution yet.

Delivering Value Before Having a Product

How do you attract people without a product? Information products work exceptionally well here.

Video content carries the highest perceived value. Actionable lists and deep-research insights work well too.

Let me share a real example. A customer of mine was developing automated SEO services. Instead of building the full solution first, he offered select prospects early access to an SEO course valued at $500.

He asked them to review it and provide testimonials. This immediately positioned him as an authority and invoked reciprocity. Those who accepted his offer signaled they were ideal customers for his actual service.

Another founder was building a CRM that integrated all messaging channels with AI summaries. Their initial content focused on helping sales teams use AI for emails, sales copy, and call scripts.

This content attracted sales professionals who were AI-curious but hesitant. The perfect audience for their eventual product.

A well-executed community-first approach allows founders to create content that signals and attracts ideal customers, establishing authority before developing the actual product, according to Digital Ocean resources.

Extracting Real Pain Points

Once you've attracted potential customers, you need to uncover their genuine pain points. Not what they agree with you about, but what truly frustrates them.

I recommend open-ended interviews with questions like:

"What do you spend most of your time doing that you'd like to not do or find boring and repetitive?"

"If I could wave a magic wand and solve your biggest headache, what would that headache be and how would your work look without that problem?"

View their answers as doors to open wider. Follow up with "why do you need to do things this way?" and "what's the end goal of that work?"

Always empathize immediately. They're sharing their deepest problems with you.

After these conversations, create content sharing strategies for dealing with the problems they've described. Sharing these with your curated community builds trust and deepens your understanding.

Finding the Real Value

Here's where many founders go wrong. They take customer statements at face value rather than identifying the underlying need.

A customer might say they need a report downloaded in Excel instead of csv so it's easier to adding formulas that update a database. The real need? Having the source data go directly into their database, skipping all those steps.

Focus on the end value customers are trying to obtain, not the mechanics of how they currently do things.

Understand their current process thoroughly, but always evaluate what real value they're ultimately seeking.

Validation Without Code

The most authoritative validation is when a customer hands over payment.

The most effective pre-product validation method I've seen is the painted door test. This can take many forms:

• An online page that accepts credit cards but then informs people all slots are full and adds them to a waiting list.
• A one-on-one conversation where you ask for payment as a test.
• Asking customers if they'd like to work directly with you on solving their problem as a way to guide the solution and get early access.

I personally used this approach for a marketing platform I was developing. I collected over $40,000 in payments and had a healthy customer base before launching.

Customers knew the platform wasn't finished but wanted first access when released. That's powerful validation.

Creating Continuous Feedback Loops

This is where a founder-curated community truly shines. Share your insights with your community and gauge their feedback to validate findings from one-on-one conversations.

The community becomes both your testing ground and your first customer base.

When to Start Building

A crucial insight: don't stop community building when you begin to develop your MVP. Continue engaging your community throughout development.

Before beginning your MVP, you need to evaluate your risks, here are three common ones:

1. Feasibility: Does all the technology required exist? Are the suppliers and services you depend on available?

2. Market capacity: Does your target segment have the finances and motivation to purchase? Test this with the painted door method.

3. Regulatory concerns: Are there regulations like HIPAA, GDPR, or PCI that would prevent your solution from being legally usable?

The Founder's Unique Value

The most common mistake I see founders make? Thinking customers can tell them what the solution should be.

If customers could dictate the solution, what value would you bring as a founder?

Henry Ford reportedly said if he had asked people what they wanted, they would have said "faster horses." Steve Jobs famously stated customers don't know what they want until you show it to them.

Customers are absolute authorities on their problems. Listen to them completely in this regard.

However, take what they say about solutions as minor recommendations. Your unique value comes from correctly identifying the underlying value they seek and delivering it in the most efficient way possible.

Building Your Community Platform

Where should you build your community? Consider these factors in order of importance:

1. Build where your market is comfortable engaging. Gamers will happily join another Discord server, but professionals might resist it since they're unfamiliar with discord.
2. Build away from social media distractions. Facebook groups might seem convenient, but your community will be constantly pulled away by other notifications.
3. Consider the content mediums you'll use. If you'll publish lots of video, avoid platforms like Slack that don't support embedded video well.

I'm personally exploring Mighty Networks for my communities. The right platform depends entirely on your specific audience and content needs.

Starting Your Community-First Journey

Building a community before building a product requires patience. The approach might seem counterintuitive to action-oriented founders eager to code or design.

But this methodology dramatically increases your chances of building something people actually want and will pay for.

Focus on understanding problems deeply before proposing solutions. Build relationships before building products. Create value before asking for payment.

When you finally do build, you'll have a waiting audience, validated ideas, and paying customers from day one.

That's the true Lean Startup advantage.