Sell It Before You Build It

Hey Starterpreneurs,

The fastest way to validate an idea? Get someone to pay for it. This week, we're exploring preselling—the art of turning interest into revenue before you write a single line of code or record one video.

Tool of the Week Gumroad — Sell digital products in minutes. No store setup, no complicated checkout. Upload your PDF, course, or template, set a price, and share the link. They handle payments, delivery, and even affiliate programs. Free to start.

Book Suggestion The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick — Stop asking people if they like your idea. Start asking about their actual problems and what they've already paid to solve them. This book teaches you how to get honest feedback that actually matters.

Marketing Strategy / Tactic The Presell Landing Page Formula:

• Headline: the transformation you provide

• 3 bullets: what they get (even if you haven't built it yet)

• Social proof: testimonials from beta users or adjacent wins

• Scarcity: "Only 10 founding member spots at 50% off"

• CTA: "Reserve your spot now"

• Use Carrd or Systeme.io (both have free tiers)

Business Opportunity of the Week LIVE Cohort-Based Mini-Courses — Pick a skill you know well. Pre-sell 5–10 spots for a 3-week live course at $200–500 each. Deliver live on Zoom. Record it. Now you have a course to sell evergreen. Total time investment: 15 hours. Potential revenue: $2,500+.

Revenue first, product second. That's how real businesses are built.

Know someone sitting on a great idea? Forward this and tell them to charge for it. Next week: the psychology of pricing.

— Talk soon,

Basat