The SaaS graveyard is full of beautifully built products that nobody wanted. Founders who spent six months and $50,000 building a platform only to discover there was no market. The single most important thing you can do before investing in development is validate that your idea solves a real problem people will pay to have solved.
Step 1: Define the Problem, Not the Solution
Most founders fall in love with their solution before they properly understand the problem. Start by writing a one-sentence problem statement: "X type of person struggles to do Y because of Z." Validate that statement before anything else. Talk to 10 people who fit your target customer description and ask them about the problem — do not mention your solution yet.
Step 2: Build a Landing Page First
Before writing any code, build a simple landing page that describes your SaaS as if it already exists. Include a clear value proposition, a feature list, and a "Get Early Access" or "Join Waitlist" CTA. Drive traffic to it with Google Ads or LinkedIn. If you cannot get 100 people to give you their email address with $500 in ad spend, that is important signal.
Step 3: Define Your MVP Ruthlessly
An MVP is not a smaller version of your full product — it is the minimum set of features required to deliver the core value to your first customers. Strip everything out. What is the single workflow your first user needs to complete? Build only that. You can add everything else in the next sprint.