I've noticed a pattern in the way a lot of founders validate product ideas.
They ask questions like:
"would you use this ?"
"what do you think?"
"does it solve your problem?"
The answers are usually encouraging.
"I'd definitely use it."
"This is a great idea."
"I'd pay for this."
The problem is that none of those questions ask the other person to give up anything.
They're giving an opinion.
Not making a buying decision.
Now compare that with questions like these:
"Would you spend 20 minutes next week trying it?"
"Would you be willing to become one of our first 10 beta users?"
"Would you be comfortable introducing me to someone who'd actually use this?"
None of these require someone to buy.
But every one of them introduces a real consequence.
Time.
Commitment.
Reputation.
The moment something is on the line, people stop answering casually and start thinking more carefully about whether they actually believe your product is worth it.
That's why I think The quality of your validation depends on how much saying 'yes' actually costs the other person.
It's introducing just enough consequence that saying "YES" starts to resemble a real buying decision instead of a polite opinion.
I'm curious how other founders think about this.
What's the smallest commitment you've found that separated genuine demand from people simply being encouraging?