The celebrated founder mentality of "fuck it, let's build a v.1 (an MVP, or Minimum Viable Product) because if I build it, people will get it" is flawed. If you build it, no one is coming. Today's market has so few barriers to building stuff that simply introducing a great product is not quite enough to get you noticed (unless you have a mega network).

What I've seen work repeatedly is a different approach. Founders who say, "Before I build, I'm going to make sure it's something people actually want. My proof will be having a line of people ready to buy it. Buyers will be my source for validating assumptions, providing insights, and introducing new thoughts, before I go live." Convincing you to adopt that approach is basically the methodology behind this entire book.

Every founder starts at zero. No one starts with a product, customers, revenue, or a real clue how it will all play out. Everyone has a dream, a vision, and some level of arrogance that they can actually make this thing happen. Failure is the result of not doing everything in your power to turn your nothing into something - it's that simple.