How I Validate The Problem & Demand Before Building (using AI and Data)
The Secret to Launching Offers That Actually Sell
Last week in Week 2, we zoomed in on something most creators overlook:
Who exactly are you helping, and what are they struggling with?
You should now have a clear audience in mind.
You know their pain points. You’ve mapped their challenges.
You’ve even crafted your first problem-solution statements.
But knowing your audience isn’t enough.
This week, we move to the most critical point in your entire roadmap:
✴️ Are you solving a real problem people are hungry to pay for?
This is where most creators, marketers, and even experienced entrepreneurs trip up.
We fall in love with ideas. We rush to create. We get excited about possibilities...
And then launch to crickets.
Not because our idea is bad.
But because we skipped validation.
The Hard Truth (I’ve Lived It):
In my early days, I built products that felt “perfect” in theory, complete with branding, landing pages, and even email sequences….but they didn’t sell.
I’d launch...
Then sit in silence, refreshing Stripe.
Zero sales. Zero feedback. All effort wasted.
It was painful…not because I failed…but because I realized I had skipped the one step that could have saved me all that time: validation.
The moment I started validating my ideas upfront, everything changed.
I pre-sold before creating.
I had confidence in what people wanted.
I knew the language to use in my copy.
My success rate went way up…and my time-to-launch shrank drastically.
My most successful products today (like, Twitter Success Mastery) were validated in public before ever being built. (how I validated will be shared in this post later.)
That’s why I say this step is non-negotiable.
What Is “Validation” Really?
Most people think validation is:
“Oh! My audience liked this tweet. That must mean it’ll sell!”
Or…
“People said they’d buy when I asked... that means they’ll buy, right?”
No. That’s interest — not intent.
Real validation is when someone commits.
When they:
Pay you
Join your waitlist
Say “send me the link now”
Or literally refer friends before it’s even launched
Likes are cheap.
Wallets and DMs are honest.
In this week’s lesson, I’ll show you exactly how to:
Validate whether people care enough to buy
Use AI and Data to shortcut the validation process
Avoid the biggest traps (like false signals and polite compliments)
Set yourself up to build only what’s worth building
You’ll walk away knowing:
✅ Whether your problem is real
✅ If people are ready to pay for a solution
✅ And what exactly to say in your offer, so it lands with clarity and conviction
What Validation Really Means (And Why Most Creators Get It Wrong)
Let’s start with a bold truth:
Most creators are validating the wrong things…and calling it market research.
They’ll post a poll. Get some likes. Someone comments “This is cool.”
Then they go build a 5-week course around it…
And it doesn’t sell.
Not because they didn’t try hard.
Not because the design was bad.
But because they mistook interest for intent…and built in a vacuum.
What Validation Isn’t:
Let’s get clear about what doesn’t count as validation:
Getting likes or comments on an idea post
Someone saying “I’d totally buy this!” (but doesn’t)
Friends hyping you up
Vague praise like “This sounds amazing”
Positive survey results with no follow-up action
I’ve made these mistakes. We all have.
Because that feedback feels good…but it’s not predictive. It doesn’t pay bills.
What Real Validation Looks Like
Real validation happens when people take action that costs them something:
Their time. Their email. Their money. Their attention.
Here’s what counts:
Someone joins a waitlist with genuine excitement
You pre-sell and collect actual payment before building
You offer a 1:1 or service and people buy on the spot
You talk about the problem and people DM you asking for help.
That’s real heat.
That’s a signal you’re solving something real… something people want solved now, not “someday.”
Why This Step is Your Shortcut
Validation isn’t just about making sales.
It’s about:
De-risking your idea
Confirming the pain is strong enough to solve
Learning how your audience talks about their problem
Gathering messaging gold for landing pages, tweets, and email copy
And saving yourself from spending 4 weeks building something nobody wants
When I launched Twitter Success Mastery, I didn’t start with a polished course.
I started with a few threads and lead magnets. Got more than 100+ leads. They have given their emails to get this course. And then I created the course.
Sales came in fast.
What You’re Really Testing
You're not testing your idea.
You’re testing 3 things:
The Problem – Do people care enough to fix it?
The Urgency – Is it painful now?
The Language – How do they describe it?
Because once you know what hurts, and how they say it...
You can frame your solution in a way that sticks and sells.
If you're reading this via email, you might miss part of the content—it's a long one! I recommend checking out the web version for the full experience.
Mindset Shift: From “What Can I Sell?” to “What Problem Can I Solve?”
If you're asking yourself,
“What’s a good product I could sell?”
You’re already off track.
That question puts you at the center.
But sales don’t happen because you want to sell something.
Sales happen when your product solves a problem that someone wants gone badly.
Your Audience Doesn’t Want Another Product
They want a solution to:
The thing that’s holding them back
The thing that’s costing them time, money, or confidence
The thing they’ve already tried to fix but couldn’t
The Right Question Is:
“What problem does my audience wake up thinking about and would pay to fix?”
When I shifted my focus from “what do I want to sell” to “what problem can I help solve,” everything in my business changed:
My tweets got more traction
My landing pages converted better
My digital products sold faster
And building felt easier…because I knew it mattered
I wasn’t guessing anymore.
I was listening, then serving.
Problems Are the Foundation of Great Products
Let’s break this down with a few examples.
You’ll notice that every strong product is rooted in a painful problem that’s being solved.
Your job isn’t to invent something brilliant.
It’s to zoom in on a specific frustration your audience already has…and offer a clear, fast path through it.
Listen for Pain, Not Praise
This is one of the best lessons I’ve learned:
Pain is a stronger buying signal than praise.
Someone saying “I’d love that!” is nice.
But someone saying “I’m tired of wasting time doing [x]” is 10x more valuable.
What you want to hear is:
“This is so frustrating…”
“I’ve tried everything…”
“I just wish someone would show me how to…”
These are buying signals in disguise.
Use AI to Decode Real Problems
Here’s where AI can supercharge your understanding.
Next I will use AI and Data to get the pains and desires of my ideal customer.
To get the data, I am using Reddit communities.
So, your first step is to find Reddit communities where your ideal customers will be spending time.
I choose Reddit because what I find is that most communities on Reddit are very engaging. And people share real stories there.
The steps are a little tech-heavy, so I will share a video walkthrough to explain this process. This includes how I get the data from Reddit and the prompts I use.