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Smoke Test

A 1-day test to check if the core idea has any pulse before deeper validation.

Why

Before you spend a week on a landing page or a month on a prototype, spend a day checking if the idea has any pulse at all. A smoke test is the cheapest possible signal: post the idea where your audience already hangs out and see if anyone reacts. If zero people engage with a well-written description in the right community, that is a strong negative signal that no amount of polish will fix. Smoke tests save you from investing in validation of an idea that has no underlying interest.

When

Before any build. Right after you write the idea down. Takes 1 day. Skip only if you already have strong evidence of demand (e.g. people are emailing you asking for this).

How

1. Write a 3-sentence pitch
   - Problem: "[audience] struggle with [problem]"
   - Solution: "I'm building [thing] that [does X]"
   - Ask: "Is this something you'd use? What's missing?"

2. Post to 2-3 places your audience already reads
   - Reddit (relevant subreddit, follow 9:1 rule)
   - Indie Hackers / Hacker News (if dev-facing)
   - Niche Discord/Slack communities or LinkedIn groups

3. Wait 24 hours and count signals
   - Strong: comments debating features, DMs asking for early access
   - Weak: a few upvotes, no comments
   - Dead: no engagement at all

4. Decide
   - Strong → proceed to lean validation loop
   - Weak → revise the pitch or the audience targeting, re-test once
   - Dead → kill or fundamentally rethink the problem

Example

Idea: "Notion widget for live stock prices inside dashboards."
Pitch posted to r/Notion (50k members) and Notion community Discord.

24h results:
  - Reddit: 47 upvotes, 12 comments, 3 people asked "how do I sign up"
  - Discord: 5 reactions, 2 people said "I'd pay for this"
  - 1 person DM'd a feature request (crypto support)

Decision: pulse confirmed → build a landing page next.

Common Problems

  • ⚠Posting to the wrong community — a great pitch in the wrong subreddit tells you nothing about demand.
  • ⚠Writing a pitch that is too vague — "a productivity tool" gets no reaction because nobody knows if it is for them.
  • ⚠Interpreting upvotes as validation — upvotes are curiosity, not intent; comments and DMs are the real signal.
  • ⚠Testing only one channel — some audiences are on Twitter, others on Discord; one dead channel does not mean the idea is dead.

Best Practices

  • ✓Follow the community's rules and contribute before asking — a first-time post from a brand-new account is often ignored or removed.
  • ✓End your pitch with a specific question to invite comments; statements get upvotes, questions get discussion.
  • ✓Test 2-3 different audiences in parallel to find where the idea resonates most.
  • ✓Screenshot or save all responses — you will quote real users in your landing page copy later.