I'm mapping out the universal pain points indie founders and technical creators face when trying to validate a business or feature idea before writing code.

The hypothesis is that "finding qualified, willing respondents" is the single biggest bottleneck, eating more time and morale than crafting the idea itself.

To move beyond anecdotes, I've put together a short, anonymous survey focused on past behaviors (not future promises):

https://validatey.vercel.app/s/coy8ikw

Why this might be interesting for HN:

The discussion here often focuses on building and scaling, but the very first step — zero-to-one validation — is still largely a dark art of hustle and luck.

If the data shows a clear pattern, it could inform better tools or methodologies for the community.

I will publish a full analysis of the aggregated data (anonymized, with charts and key takeaways) in a follow-up post.

So, two ways to contribute:

Comment below with your war story or most effective hack.

Spend 5 minutes on the survey for a more structured data point

The goal is to turn anecdotal frustration into something actionable. All insights will be shared back with the community.