Stop Building in the Dark: Why Your First Feature Should Be a 'Launch Soon' Badge

I spent three months building a chrome extension once. I was so sure it was a winner. I had the landing page designed in my head, the code was clean, and I had even picked out the colors for the logo. When I finally launched it on a Tuesday morning, I sat back and waited for the users to roll in.

Do you know how many people signed up in the first week? Three. And two of them were my friends from college who felt bad for me.

It was a classic mistake. I had built in the dark. I was so in love with my own solution that I forgot to check if anyone actually had the problem. It’s a painful lesson, but it’s one that almost every maker learns at least once. Usually at the cost of hundreds of hours and a lot of mental energy.

In 2026, we don't have time for that anymore. The market moves too fast. This is why I've become obsessed with the idea of "Hype-Driven Validation."

The Trap of the "Build Phase"

We love building. That’s why we’re call ourselves makers. There is a certain comfort in the code. When you’re in VS Code, everything is logical. A semicolon in the wrong place is a bug you can fix. But the market isn't logical. The market is messy, unpredictable, and often doesn't care about your clean architecture.

The "Build Phase" is often just a form of procrastination. We tell ourselves we need to add "just one more feature" before we can show it to anyone. We’re scared of rejection, so we hide behind our keyboards. We convince ourselves that "if we build it, they will come."

But they won’t come if they don’t know it exists. And more importantly, they won’t come if they don't want it.

Your job isn't to build features. Your job is to find a group of people with a problem and help them. Features are just the tools. The most important tool you have at the start of a project isn't React or Python. It's a "Launch Soon" badge.

Curiosity as a Filter

Humans are weird. We are biologically programmed to be curious about things we can't have yet. It’s why movie trailers exist. It’s why Apple holds massive events just to say they’re working on something new.

When you put a project on your profile and mark it as "Launch Soon," you're tapping into that primal curiosity. You aren't asking for money yet. You aren't asking them to change their workflow. You're just asking, "Does this interest you?"

If someone clicks "Follow" or "Remind Me" on a project that doesn't even exist yet, that’s the highest form of validation you can get. It means they saw your vision and said, "Yes, I want to see where this goes."

If you put up five different ideas and one gets 50 followers while the others get zero, you've just saved yourself about a year of work. You now know exactly what to build next. The "ghost" interest is your roadmap.

The Psychology of the Waitlist

A waitlist is more than just a list of emails. It’s a community of early adopters who are rooting for you.

When you build with a crowd watching, the pressure changes. It’s no longer about you and your ego. It’s about fulfilling a promise you made to those 50 people. It keeps you accountable. It keeps you focused on the core value instead of wandering off into "feature creep" territory.

Plus, when you actually do launch, you aren't starting from zero. You have a warm audience ready to jump in. You have people who have been following the journey and feel like they’re part of the story. That first-day spike isn't a result of luck; it's a result of the hype you built while you were "launching soon."

Why Transparency Makes People Trust Your Hype

We’ve all seen the "Coming Soon" pages that stay "coming soon" for three years. People are naturally skeptical of hype because so much of it is fake.

This is where your track record comes in.

On a platform like Makers Page, people don't just see your new idea. They see your existing projects. They see your verified revenue. They see that you’ve shipped before. This "Proof of Work" is the fuel for your hype. If a founder with three successful (verified) projects says they’re building something new, I’m going to pay attention. If a random person with a blank profile says it, I’m going to keep scrolling.

Trust is transferable. The honesty you show in your current projects makes your future projects more likely to succeed. Your profile is the compounding interest of your career as a maker.

The "Minimum Viable Hype" (MVH)

Before you write the first line of code, you should have an MVH.

What is the smallest amount of information you can share to generate interest?

• A Title: What do you call it?
• A Bio: What problem does it solve in one sentence?
• A Category: Who is it for?
• A Date: When are you aims to launch?

That’s all you need. You don't need a logo. You don't need a complex landing page. You just need to commit to the idea enough to put it on your public profile.

If the interest isn't there, don't be afraid to kill the idea. Killing an idea early is a victory, not a failure. It means you’re becoming a smarter founder. It means you’re valuing your time.

Building in Public 2.0

We talk a lot about building in public, but most people do it wrong. They only share the "good" stuff. They share the code snippets that look cool. They share the logo reveal.

Building in public 2.0 is about sharing the decision-making process.

Use your "Launch Soon" phase to ask questions. "Hey, for the project I'm launching in March, would you prefer feature A or feature B?" "Does anyone else struggle with this specific bug I'm trying to fix?"

By the time the product is live, your followers have helped you build it. They feel ownership. They aren't just customers; they’re stakeholders. And stakeholders are the best marketing team you could ever ask for.

Don't Wait for "Perfect" to Start the Clock

If I could go back and tell my younger self one thing, it would be this: stop waiting for the product to be "ready" before you start talking about it.

The product is never ready.

The conversation is what matters. Start the clock today. Add your next idea to your profile. Mark it as "Launch Soon." Be honest about how early you are. Let people see the raw, unpolished version of your vision.

The makers who win aren't the ones who build the best apps. They are the ones who build the best relationships. And relationships start with a conversation, not a checkout page.

Your Action Plan for This Week

If you have an idea rattling around in your head, here is your homework:

1. Write it Down: Spend ten minutes defining exactly who it's for and why it needs to exist.
2. Post it Publicly: Don't hide it in a Notion doc. Put it on your Makers Page profile.
3. Connect Your Stripe: If you haven't yet, get that verified badge. Give people a reason to trust your hype.
4. Share the "Why": Write a short post or update explaining why you're excited about this specific idea.
5. Listen: Watch the followers. Listen to the feedback. Be prepared to pivot or kill the idea if the market says no.

Building is hard. Validation is harder. But doing it with a community by your side makes it a lot more fun.

Let's stop guessing and start knowing.

See you out there. (Hopefully on the "Coming Soon" list.)