Inspiration
As a developer, I constantly come up with product ideas — some scribbled in notebooks, others sitting idle in Notion. But I noticed a pattern: I wasn't building most of them. Not because I lacked the skills, but because I lacked validation.
Talking to other indie hackers and startup founders, I found the same fear: “What if no one actually wants this?”
I wanted to build something that helps validate product ideas before investing months into development — not with landing pages or pre-orders, but by seeing if people truly care enough to join a community around an idea.
That’s how Niche Validator was born.
What it does
Niche Validator helps founders validate their product ideas by building small, interest-based communities around them.
- Founders submit their idea (title, description, tags).
- A public landing page is created automatically.
- Visitors can join the community for that idea.
- They can also answer a short survey about their problem and participate in a discussion wall.
- Founders can track signups, view survey responses, and engage with early users.
In short: it helps you find your first 100 users before you build the product.
How we built it
- React for the frontend and routing
- Supabase for authentication, database, and real-time features
- TailwindCSS for responsive and clean UI
- Netlify for fast deployment and previews
I followed a lean development approach, focusing only on the core validation loop: idea → signups → feedback.
Challenges we ran into
- Designing a low-friction join flow that didn't scare users away (auth + survey + community)
- Balancing simplicity with functionality — I wanted to avoid bloated features
- Creating a useful but minimal discussion system without reinventing forums
- Deciding how to structure relationships between users, ideas, and feedback in the database
Accomplishments that we're proud of
- Built a fully functional MVP in just one single prompt using Bolt
- Created a smooth end-to-end flow for founders and users
- Designed with validation-first mindset, not feature-first
- Made something that solves a real and common problem in the indie/startup space
What we learned
- Early users care about being part of the process, not just the product.
- Community-first validation is powerful — even basic conversations can uncover gold.
- A lightweight MVP with clear purpose often resonates more than feature-packed tools.
- Supabase is an amazing backend solution for fast prototyping and scalable auth.
What's next for Niche Validator
We’re excited about where this can go. Upcoming plans include:
- Adding functionality to provide dashboard access only to founders and not to normal users
- Adding notifications for new signups and comments
- Supporting private or invite-only idea pages
- Letting founders create polls or mini feature wishlists
- Tracking deeper analytics like engagement heatmaps
- Introducing a revenue model to charge for publishing more than 1 or maybe 3 ideas
Eventually, I envision Niche Validator as the go-to place for validating any idea — fast, community-first, and code-free.
Built With
- react
- supabase
- tailwind
- typescript
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