How do you validate a micro SaaS idea before building it?

Validate a micro SaaS idea in 2 steps: an hour with 7 questions, then a week asking 10 named people for money. If the idea survives the hour and somebody pays before anything exists, build it. If not, you've spent a week instead of a month.

Most of my 25 dead products would have died in that hour. None of them was put through it, because I hadn't written the questions yet. They came out of the deaths.

The hour: 7 questions

Is it a problem you have today? Not one you had at a job you've left. Memory sands off the hard parts.
Can it be live in 7 days? If not, the idea is too big for one person to test.
Will someone pay before it's finished? You'll find out in step 2.
Do you already have the audience? Can you name the place where these people talk, and are you known there?
Can one person run it for 5 years? Support, upkeep and all.
Is the technology boring? If you're choosing it to learn something, you're building a course, not a product.
Have you written down the number at which you'll kill it? Before launch, while you're hopeful.

Expect your 2 favourite ideas to fail it. Most people's do. (Mine always have.)

The week: 10 people, one question, a real price

Write down 10 people who have the problem. Names, not a category. Ask each of them, in one sentence, whether they'd pay a small amount a month for the thing, and ask for the money then and there, with a date and a promise of a full refund if you miss it.

What they do is the answer. Polite interest is not. "Sounds useful, let me know when it's ready" is a no that's being kind to you.

Why asking for money beats every survey

People will tell you an idea is good to be nice. They won't pay to be nice. The only validation that has ever predicted whether one of my products lived was somebody paying before it existed. The oldest product I still run was the only one of my first 6 years where a customer offered to pay before I'd built anything, and I arranged that by accident.

What to do with a no

Stop, and write down why. A no from 10 people you could name is the cheapest thing you'll ever learn about an idea. A no from nobody, because you never asked, is the most expensive: you find it out 4 months later, from a dashboard that says zero.

Ship Alone sets out the hour and the week in full. The rules page has every filter on one page.

Questions

How many customers do you need to validate a SaaS idea?

At least 3 paying, out of about 10 people you asked by name. One yes is one person's problem; 3 from people who don't know each other is the start of a market.

Is a landing page with sign-ups enough to validate an idea?

No. Sign-ups tell you people are curious. Payment before the product exists tells you they'll pay, which is the only thing you actually need to know.

How long should validating a micro SaaS idea take?

An hour for the 7 questions and about a week to ask 10 people for money. If it takes longer, the idea is probably too big for one person to test.