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Peacock. A New Programming Language

1•hashhooshy•4m ago•1 comments

A postcard arrived: 'If you're reading this I'm dead, and I really liked you'

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2026/02/07/postcard-death-teacher-glickman/
2•bookofjoe•5m ago•1 comments

What to know about the software selloff

https://www.morningstar.com/markets/what-know-about-software-stock-selloff
2•RickJWagner•9m ago•0 comments

Show HN: Syntux – generative UI for websites, not agents

https://www.getsyntux.com/
3•Goose78•10m ago•0 comments

Microsoft appointed a quality czar. He has no direct reports and no budget

https://jpcaparas.medium.com/ab75cef97954
2•birdculture•10m ago•0 comments

AI overlay that reads anything on your screen (invisible to screen capture)

https://lowlighter.app/
1•andylytic•11m ago•1 comments

Show HN: Seafloor, be up and running with OpenClaw in 20 seconds

https://seafloor.bot/
1•k0mplex•12m ago•0 comments

Tesla turbine-inspired structure generates electricity using compressed air

https://techxplore.com/news/2026-01-tesla-turbine-generates-electricity-compressed.html
2•PaulHoule•13m ago•0 comments

State Department deleting 17 years of tweets (2009-2025); preservation needed

https://www.npr.org/2026/02/07/nx-s1-5704785/state-department-trump-posts-x
2•sleazylice•13m ago•1 comments

Learning to code, or building side projects with AI help, this one's for you

https://codeslick.dev/learn
1•vitorlourenco•14m ago•0 comments

Effulgence RPG Engine [video]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFQOUe9S7dU
1•msuniverse2026•15m ago•0 comments

Five disciplines discovered the same math independently – none of them knew

https://freethemath.org
3•energyscholar•16m ago•1 comments

We Scanned an AI Assistant for Security Issues: 12,465 Vulnerabilities

https://codeslick.dev/blog/openclaw-security-audit
1•vitorlourenco•17m ago•0 comments

Amazon no longer defend cloud customers against video patent infringement claims

https://ipfray.com/amazon-no-longer-defends-cloud-customers-against-video-patent-infringement-cla...
2•ffworld•17m ago•0 comments

Show HN: Medinilla – an OCPP compliant .NET back end (partially done)

https://github.com/eliodecolli/Medinilla
2•rhcm•20m ago•0 comments

How Does AI Distribute the Pie? Large Language Models and the Ultimatum Game

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6157066
1•dkga•21m ago•1 comments

Resistance Infrastructure

https://www.profgalloway.com/resistance-infrastructure/
2•samizdis•25m ago•1 comments

Fire-juggling unicyclist caught performing on crossing

https://news.sky.com/story/fire-juggling-unicyclist-caught-performing-on-crossing-13504459
1•austinallegro•26m ago•0 comments

Restoring a lost 1981 Unix roguelike (protoHack) and preserving Hack 1.0.3

https://github.com/Critlist/protoHack
2•Critlist•27m ago•0 comments

GPS and Time Dilation – Special and General Relativity

https://philosophersview.com/gps-and-time-dilation/
1•mistyvales•30m ago•0 comments

Show HN: Witnessd – Prove human authorship via hardware-bound jitter seals

https://github.com/writerslogic/witnessd
1•davidcondrey•31m ago•1 comments

Show HN: I built a clawdbot that texts like your crush

https://14.israelfirew.co
2•IsruAlpha•33m ago•2 comments

Scientists reverse Alzheimer's in mice and restore memory (2025)

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251224032354.htm
2•walterbell•36m ago•0 comments

Compiling Prolog to Forth [pdf]

https://vfxforth.com/flag/jfar/vol4/no4/article4.pdf
1•todsacerdoti•37m ago•0 comments

Show HN: Cymatica – an experimental, meditative audiovisual app

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cymatica-sounds-visualizer/id6748863721
1•_august•38m ago•0 comments

GitBlack: Tracing America's Foundation

https://gitblack.vercel.app/
9•martialg•38m ago•1 comments

Horizon-LM: A RAM-Centric Architecture for LLM Training

https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.04816
1•chrsw•39m ago•0 comments

We just ordered shawarma and fries from Cursor [video]

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WALQOiugbWc
1•jeffreyjin•40m ago•1 comments

Correctio

https://rhetoric.byu.edu/Figures/C/correctio.htm
1•grantpitt•40m ago•0 comments

Trying to make an Automated Ecologist: A first pass through the Biotime dataset

https://chillphysicsenjoyer.substack.com/p/trying-to-make-an-automated-ecologist
2•crescit_eundo•44m ago•0 comments
Open in hackernews

Stop Building Products Nobody Wants: The Validation Method That Works

12•Taikhoom10•6mo ago
Hey HN, Recently I have been working on a couple startups in SF. And I have noticed talking to a lot of founders, since my target users are early stage founders, that they are hyper focused on building. Often they come up with a idea they think is great and can't stop thinking about it and just shoot out to build it. Often they might go months on long just straight building. And while building is extremely important, and being so passionate about is great. I have come to realize they often end up not really validating anything. So after a lot of testing and validation, and reading the "Mom test" of course, I think I know the best way to validate. Before you build anything, have a clear way to define what you are building, whip up a quick landing page and get people to pay. Show them demos, and really get the landing page in front of them. If people will pay before even building something, that is a great sign for you to go ahead and build as well a to investors. So yeah, I just wanted to put that out there, if anyone has anything to say let me know.

Comments

PaulHoule•6mo ago
I've worked on enterprise products and that is nowhere near being an adequate simulation of the sales process.
Taikhoom10•6mo ago
Yeah I didn't describe that in detail, but in short you explain your idea in your landing page, market it in front of your target users. If your able to convert without having anything built that shows strong demand for the product. Does that clear it up?
PaulHoule•6mo ago
Where I work we sell subscriptions to (mostly) academic organizations. There is no way these people will go to a web page and subscribe with a credit card, instead they talk to our sales people multiple times, have to talk to other parts of their organization to get the money, often write a bespoke contract, etc.

Similarly I have worked for systems that would sell a highly customized system to a company like Airbus or Comcast or Safety-Kleen and there would be a huge amount of work going into determining what exactly gets sold which again, is not comparable to going to some landing page and paying with a credit card.

If you're selling mattresses or something, maybe that's different.

Taikhoom10•6mo ago
I am talking about the realm of startups and products. And yeah some might be skeptic, but a lot of people would if they really could use it.

And that's just a metric you can use to really see if people are interested in your product.

PaulHoule•6mo ago
The difference is "consumer product" vs "enterprise products". My current employer is certainly not a startup, but I have worked at startups (angel, venture-funded or pre-funded) that worked on enterprise products.

For consumer products what you're saying may make sense, but that is not the universe of all products and opportunities.

Taikhoom10•6mo ago
Yeah I totally get what your saying. Do you happen to be working on a startup right now?
sidewndr46•6mo ago
Did you actually read his reply or are you just working from some sort of script?
bruce511•6mo ago
Even figuring this out is valuable. Say I've got an idea for a hot new academic thing.

I know who needs this, I understand their pain, but its really valuable to understand their procurement process as well. If they need to have sales people as part of the process, I need to know that (and cost it in.)

Talking to my target market, and understanding what it takes for them to pay me, is a big part of understanding if I have a real business idea or not.

codingdave•6mo ago
I had really hoped we were past the "landing page" concept at this point. Yes, if you can get people to pay, that validates the ideas, but a landing page is mostly a validation of the marketing, not the product. And it could be complete throwaway work because once the product hits user's hand, they will correct the details that are wrong, and your initial "landing page" is outdated instantly.

Better to talk to people and iterate on prototypes with a handful of pilot users until they are willing to pay, them expand beyond the pilot group. Not only it is real communication and iteration with users, we aren't spamming the world with "landing pages" of products that do not actually exist.

Taikhoom10•6mo ago
Ok well, your right it is usually a combination of things, you can have several prototypes that you show. My point is you shouldn't get stuck in any of the i will build before validating.
Taikhoom10•6mo ago
And also, unless you get feedback in the right way, a lot of people could mislead you. Paying shows real validation that you cant argue with. Actions are a lot louder than just words.
bruce511•6mo ago
Landing page might be overdone, but you follow up with talking to users etc.

The mechanics may differ, but the point is the same. Validating the idea with real customers, finding those customers, getting them to be interested, is exactly the hard part.

Once you have a way to reach your projected customers, once you've even determined they exist, then you should start building.

Building first, then wondering who the customer is, or how to reach them, is a waste of time and money.

ashdev•6mo ago
This might work for B2C startups, but not so much for B2B. In B2B, people need to see a working product that clearly saves them time or money. The sales cycle is longer, and landing page tactics alone usually aren’t effective.

A better approach is to talk to as many potential customers as possible early on. Collect emails, show a rough prototype, get feedback, and iterate. Then, when you’re ready to launch, go back to those same people, email them, show what’s changed, and demo how the product delivers real value.

Taikhoom10•6mo ago
Yeah I guess your right about that, build a quick MVP and validate from there. Makes sense.
PaulHoule•6mo ago
Note there is a slice of B2C products that are sold like he is thinking. I wanted a subscription to Polypane, got a free trial and ultimately my administrative assistant punched in our P-card number to their web site. I had to fill out paperwork to satisfy one of New York’s largest private employers, but the burden was all on me —- though there would have been no free trial for a product that didn’t exist and the paperwork wouldn’t have been so simple if it didn’t.
kilian•6mo ago
Hey, Polypane founder here hoping to get feedback and iterate ;)

Needing to fill in the paperwork for a saas is a PITA. Is there anything I could add to the site or elsewhere that would have made that easier for you?

PaulHoule•6mo ago
My Uni has site licenses for many products such as Snagit 2025 and if I want a license for that the skids are greased. You did everything right from the viewpoint of an early adopter, in the future I guess your sales people could talk to our Central IT and negotiate something, if you send me an email I could try to find out how you would talk to.
moomoo11•6mo ago
I think this might work for B2C or "MAX FREEMIUM" (where you have 200M+ users and maybe you hit 100M in revenue after 10 years because 10% convert to paid).

But overall I think people should focus on solving problems they have actually faced that have a "REAL" (tangible) ROI.

There are plenty of good businesses with a crappy website that are solving actual problems.

muzani•6mo ago
It's outdated advice in 2025 IMO.

1) We had this methodology for over a decade now. Most of the business models that work with this have been mined out. The features that increase customer sales by 2-3x are the ones that nobody asked for.

2) Building prototypes is cheap. Like easier than making videos or slides. You don't need $100k and a few months to build features anymore.

3) Landing pages, wishlists, and product hunt have become a smell that these guys have no idea what they're doing. They're validating. The docs are incomplete, there's some tutorial videos on a screen that doesn't exist. 2 weeks later, these companies tell me they're pivoting to something agentic that I don't want.

Fuck that. It took us 3 days to build it internally. The logic for SaaS was that it caters for edge cases and maintenance that we don't want to do, but these modern SaaS don't want to do it either. If they knew what they were doing and if they cared, they wouldn't be playing the wishlist game.

Have some confidence in what you build. Do it better than your customers would do with Bolt or Lovable.

creamyhorror•6mo ago
This was standard advice ten years ago during the Lean Startup era and is startup 101 now. I guess a lot of aspiring founders haven't even read/searched up the basics.