How Can You Sell What Doesn’t Exist Yet?
If startups should sell first, build best-in-class, then sell like crazy, how do you pitch a product that’s still just a dream in your eye?
The trick is finding the fastest, cheapest way to prove two things:
1. The pain you’re solving is real.
2. Your solution actually scratches that itch.
You don’t need a polished product. You need a scrappy, low-fidelity idea that validates demand.
Here are some real-life proof it works:
- Rent the Runway: Before they had an app or a slick platform, the founders ran a barebones test: a call center taking orders for designer dress rentals. Women called, booked, and paid. That was it—no tech, just proof. Only after confirming women craved the service did they build the infrastructure. Today, it’s a $1B+ business.
- Airbnb: The origin story is legendary for a reason. The founders threw up a basic website offering air mattresses in their San Francisco apartment during a sold-out conference. Strangers booked. Cash changed hands. Demand was real. That validation sparked a global marketplace now worth over $100B.
- Dropbox: No product, no problem. They posted a three-minute demo video showing what their file-syncing tool *could* do. Result? 75,000 signups overnight—before a single line of code was written. Validation unlocked $1.7B in funding and a thriving SaaS empire.
When I built Vezeeta, what’s now the Middle East’s biggest consumer health platform—serving 20 million patients across five countries, we started by scheduling doctors’ appointments by hand: calling clinics, slotting patients, texting confirmations. Clunky? Yes. Effective? Absolutely.
At InVitro Capital, we call this Hypothesis-Driven Validation: test your hunch against reality before you commit. It starts by a hypothesis that must be validated through real sales.
Building without selling first is like pouring concrete without checking the ground—it might hold, but why risk the collapse?
Every dollar and hour spent pre-validation is a gamble; post-validation, it’s an investment.
We would love to hear from you, if this sounds like an exciting way to build. We are partnering with entrepreneurs, tech leaders and industry experts to be part of this movement. We are now building our second cohort. Exciting news about the first one to come soon.
Cofound with us: https://lnkd.in/d5WjMSRn
Partner with us: https://lnkd.in/dV5xgFmk
