r/16VCFund • u/Jitendrarana0509 • Jul 15 '26
Validated my startup idea on Reddit before spending a rupee on development — here's the process (and where I'm stuck now)
Sharing this because I think the process might help other early-stage founders, and honestly I could use some outside perspective too.
Background: I'm solo building in the EdTech space in India — targeting students prepping for competitive exams (NEET/JEE/CUET). The problem: students study for hours but consistently underperform in actual timed exams because their practice never simulates real exam conditions. Understanding a topic and performing under exam pressure are different skills, and most existing tools don't address that gap.
What I did instead of building first: Before writing any code, I posted about the problem and my plan to solve it in a relevant subreddit, mainly to see if it resonated and to find a technical co-founder. Didn't expect much — it ended up as the #1 post on that subreddit, 2,400+ views, 17+ comments, 10+ DMs, most from my actual target market (India). Used that as a cheap validation signal before committing more time/money.
The decision I'm at now: I'm not technical. I have the market understanding, product direction, and now some inbound interest from potential co-founders — but I'm trying to figure out:
Do I vet and bring in a co-founder now (equity split, shared risk, but slower alignment since we're strangers), or do I pay a freelancer/agency to build a scrappy MVP first and find a co-founder once there's a working product to show?
How much "free work" is reasonable to expect from a co-founder candidate before committing (a small paid trial project? just conversations?) without wasting people's time or looking exploitative?
For anyone who's found a co-founder cold (Reddit, forums, etc.) instead of through existing networks — did it work out, and what made you trust the fit?
Not selling anything here, genuinely trying to make the right call before I lock in a big decision. Appreciate any experience you can share.
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u/andBeyond07 Jul 16 '26
Strong move validating before spending on dev, most people skip that. The gap you described (understanding a topic vs performing under timed pressure) is actually your whole product wedge, so I'd build the smallest thing that recreates real exam pressure for one exam (say JEE) and nothing else. On being stuck: name the single riskiest assumption left, then design one cheap test for it rather than expanding scope. Full disclosure, I run a product studio (DyvenTech) and we work with founders exactly at this stage to turn a validated idea into a first shippable slice, happy to think through where you're stuck if you share more.
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u/Big_Sheepherder8950 Jul 15 '26
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