The five steps
Every product that reaches the market goes through the same five stages, whoever builds it:
- Validate that people want it.
- Define the first version.
- Build it.
- Launch it to real users.
- Run and improve it.
Non-technical founders can do the first two alone, and should. The last three are where you need help.
1. Validate before anything gets built
An idea feels finished in your head, and even more so after an AI assistant has helped you describe it in detail. Neither of those is evidence. Evidence is what people outside your circle do.
- Talk to the people who have the problem. Ask what they do about it today and what it costs them.
- Offer the solution by hand. Many products can be imitated with a spreadsheet, a form and your own time.
- Ask for a commitment: a place on a waitlist, a signed letter, a payment.
Our checklist in how to know whether your idea is ready to be built goes through this in detail.
2. Define the first version
Write down, in plain language:
- Who the product is for. One kind of user.
- The one task that user must be able to complete.
- What happens before and after that task.
- What you will leave out for now.
You do not need technical language. A clear description of what the user does is more useful to a team than a list of features.
3. Choose who builds it
This is the decision that matters most, and there are five real options:
| Option | What it costs you | Main risk |
|---|---|---|
| AI and no-code builders, by yourself | Time | Hard to take beyond a prototype |
| Freelancers or a software agency | Cash | You carry all the risk and must judge the work |
| A technical cofounder | A large share of the company | Hard to find, and the relationship may fail |
| Raising money and hiring a team | Equity, and months of fundraising | Managing technical people without being one |
| A tech-for-equity partner | A minority equity stake | Selective: you need validation to get in |
We compare them in how to build a startup without a technical cofounder, and explain the last one in tech for equity.
4. Launch
A product that works on your screen is not yet a product in the market. Launching means real accounts, real data, payments if you charge, and approval from the app stores if it is a mobile app. It also means someone is responsible when something fails. We describe what this involves in from prototype to production.
5. Run and improve it
The first version will be wrong in ways you cannot predict. The months after launch are when you learn what users really do. Plan for that from the start: who will fix problems, who will build the next version, and what it will cost. See how much it costs to build an app.
Where The Loop Ventures fits
The Loop Ventures is a tech-for-equity venture studio. We are technology experts who design, build and launch software products in exchange for a minority equity stake. Founders bring the industry knowledge, the validation and the ability to sell. We take care of steps 3, 4 and 5 as partners.
We work with founders who have already done steps 1 and 2. If you have, read how it works or apply with your idea.