In a recent LinkedIn post, Ali Abdaal discusses a fundamental, yet often overlooked, three-step process for building successful businesses. Abdaal, a physician turned entrepreneur and popular content creator, highlights that while many entrepreneurs excel at the initial idea generation and the final customer acquisition stages, they frequently falter by neglecting the critical middle phase: validation. This oversight, he argues, leads to wasted time and resources.
Abdaal outlines the core sequence for business creation as picking an idea, validating it with potential users, and then converting those individuals into paying customers. He emphasizes that the validation step is paramount for efficiency, yet it’s the stage most commonly skipped.
“The middle step aka validation is the one that saves you the most time.”
The temptation, Abdaal observes, is to immediately dive into the tangible aspects of launching a business once an idea sparks interest. This often involves activities like choosing a name, securing a domain, designing a logo, and drafting sales copy. However, Abdaal points out that none of these actions require direct interaction with someone who might actually purchase the product or service.
The Pitfalls of Premature Building
Abdaal criticizes the common practice of bypassing direct customer conversations. He explains that the rush to build can lead entrepreneurs down a path of creating something without confirming there’s a genuine market need or willingness to pay. This is where the concept of validation becomes indispensable.
The Power of Past Behavior Over Future Intentions
Abdaal stresses that effective validation involves more than just asking hypothetical questions. He advises against posing questions like “would you buy this?” to potential customers, as this often elicits polite but ultimately unhelpful positive responses.
“Validation is: before you build, talk to 5 people who fit your target. And don’t ask them ‘would you buy this?’ That question gets you a polite yes and zero useful information.”
Instead, Abdaal advocates for probing into past purchasing behaviors. He suggests asking questions such as, “have you ever paid for something like this before? what was it, and what did you wish was different?” According to Abdaal, this approach provides concrete data.
“Past behaviour is real data. Future intention is fiction.”
By focusing on what people have actually done and what they desired in past similar purchases, entrepreneurs can gain genuine insights into market demand and potential product improvements. This method, Abdaal argues, is far more reliable than relying on speculative answers about future actions.
A Call to Action for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
Abdaal concludes his post by offering a solution for those struggling with idea generation. He announces a live masterclass designed to help participants develop actionable business ideas within a two-hour session.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by Ali Abdaal on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on April 30, 2026 | View original post on LinkedIn →