A SaaS idea is validated when customers pay, not when they say they would like to use it. The method has four steps: write down your assumptions, talk to potential customers, ask for a paid commitment (pre-order or pilot), then decide against criteria set in advance. Interviews, prototypes and waiting lists need no legal structure; as soon as you take a payment or deliver a service, you need a legal framework (micro-entreprise or company).
1. Write down your assumptions
- Who has the problem, precisely: job, company size, situation.
- How they solve it today, and what it costs them (time, money, errors).
- How much they would pay, and who signs off on the spend.
2. Talk to potential customers
Around fifteen interviews are often enough to see the same answers coming back. Ask about the past, not the future: "the last time this problem came up, what did you do?" rather than "would you use this tool?".
3. Ask for a commitment
- A pre-order or a paid pilot at a reduced price, with a delivery date.
- A page presenting the offer and its price, with a sign-up or demo request.
- Taking payment before the company exists: possible in some frameworks, see can you invoice before receiving your Kbis? and the choice between micro-entreprise or company. bpifrance-creation.fr
4. Decide against criteria set in advance
Before the interviews, write down what will make you launch: for example a number of customers ready to pay, an accepted price, a positive margin per customer in the margin calculator. If the threshold is not reached, change your target or your offer before writing any code.
Once the project is validated
Work out the launch budget, then choose the legal framework: micro-entreprise or company, SASU or EURL.
Written by Razvan Toma, founder of LegalRapide. How we check our figures · LinkedIn