When I started UpLaunch, my first company, I made every mistake in the book.

I spent 30 weeks building a platform with 14 different features.

We had settings, bells, whistles - you name it.

It became a bloated mess.

I could've gotten the same results with just two core features.

Most founders get this wrong.

They fall in love with their first idea. They burn months building software nobody wants. They spend tens of thousands of dollars on development agencies. And they end up with nothing but a buggy MVP and empty pockets.

These are the 5 "10s" I follow to validate new offers without wasting time or money.

1. Generate 10 ideas

Executing your first idea is like marrying the first person you go on a date with.

Force yourself to list 10 ideas before choosing one.

My favorite method for generating ideas:

Find a workflow that's a complete pain in the ass and create a simple solution.

Then ruthlessly evaluate each idea.

Ask yourself:

• Do I care deeply about fixing this problem?

• Am I solving a real problem or just scratching my own itch?

• Can I get excited about this for the long haul?

Founder-problem fit matters just as much as product-market fit - you need to care enough about the problem to "chew on glass" for 5+ years.

2. Validate that you have a $10M idea

It's your idea - so of course you're going to love it.

But do other people love it?

Ideally, you want an idea that has the potential to generate $10M per month.

This doesn't mean you will generate $10M per month - you just need a piece of that pie.

For example:

I know I'll never sell anything less than $100 per month - so I need to be confident that there are 100,000 businesses in the world who need my solution.

This is where "market research" comes in.

Explore the forums where your target market hangs to identify if this is a common problem.

Also - how easy is it to get in front of your target market?

• Can you easily target them on Facebook or other channels?

• Is the market so niche that marketing will be a total slog?

If you can't easily reach your ideal customers, you're setting yourself up to fail.

3. Get 10 credit cards

Words are cheap.

People will say, "That's a great idea!"

But will they pay for it?

In my opinion, you don't have a valid idea until you've got 10 people who've given you their credit card.

Customers vote with their wallet.

If you want to build a software company, start with a service that delivers the exact same outcome your future software will provide.

You want to:

• Learn how customers view the problem

• Get initial testimonials

• Create reputation in the space

• Validate your core value proposition

Customers aren't buying software. They're hiring your solution to complete a job.

4. Build your software in 10 weeks

Constraint forces you to focus.

You get exactly 10 weeks to build your MVP.

My hard rules:

• Solve ONE major problem

• Build ONLY 1-2 core features

• Focus on replacing your initial service offering

Remember my UpLaunch mistake?

We built 14 features when two would've done the job.

Don't overcomplicate it.

Your first version doesn't need to be perfect. It needs to solve the core problem.

Then launch.

5. Get 10 stranger's credit cards

Those first sales probably came from your network.

Those people already like you, trust you, and want to see you win.

But you can't build a software business on "friendship."

You need complete strangers to recognize the value in your software - and buy.

This is where you need:

• A legitimate marketing channel

• A repeatable sales process

• Software so good that strangers are blown away

I recommend getting active on social (or running ads), and then free monthly webinars that drive to sales calls.

This is a proven process I've used over and over again at many companies.

If you can't get money from 10 strangers, go back to the drawing board.

Anyone can get lucky.

But truly successful founders create their own luck with a repeatable system.

This is how you turn your idea into a real business.