2 builders who never spoke to each other
Post the idea and count who asks for it
Describe the idea plainly, or post a mockup image of it, and measure whether strangers ask for it to exist. Some builders attach an explicit threshold and say outright they will only build it if the post clears the bar, which converts a vague sense of interest into a decision rule before any code is written.
The method
- 01
Post the plain description of the idea and ask followers outright whether they want it; treat that single post as the first version of the product.
- 02
Test a coding-challenge product by posting interface mockups to Twitter and inviting followers to reproduce them in code; rising engagement on those posts is the demand signal that justifies building an app.
- 03
Test the idea by posting a mockup image publicly and watching whether strangers ask for it to exist.
- 04
Post the idea publicly with an explicit condition attached: say you will build it only if the post gets enough interest.
What it returned
- 2022
Started December 2022 with Twitter posts of UI designs only; engagement grew before any app existed, and the platform later reached 56,000+ members.
- 16
Paul Jarvis tweeted the Fathom concept on 16 April 2018 promising to build it if the tweet found traction, and it outran what he expected.
A tweet explaining the paid community idea drew several people saying they would join, with nothing built.
One hour of design produced a mockup screenshot, and the tweet of it went mini viral with people asking him to build it.
Sources
- From idea - to tweet - to live productFlorin Pop · florin-pop.com · From Idea to Tweet · 2024-10-05
- I sold my first SaaS for $50,000Florin Pop · florin-pop.com · How It Started · 2025-02-17
- SaaS lessons shared on the Framework podcast - Fathom AnalyticsPaul Jarvis · usefathom.com · Starting Fathom Analytics as the first simple, privacy-focused web analytics company · 2020-07-20
- From almost shutting down to tripling our MRR - Fathom AnalyticsPaul Jarvis · usefathom.com · From almost shutting down to tripling our MRR · 2019-11-04
the second source
Three plays a week, for the phase you are in
No roundup of links, no news. Three tactics more than one builder arrived at separately, with the numbers each one returned and the disagreements left in.
More in social
- Concentrate on one platform until it works11 unconnected · contested
- Gather the audience before there is a product6 unconnected · contested
- Fire the launch into the audience you already have6 unconnected · contested
- Post the numbers, not the commentary5 unconnected · contested
- Republish the winners with a new hook5 unconnected
- Cut one long piece into weeks of social posts5 unconnected