TrueSignal: Validation Analytics for Early SaaS Builders

For me, the biggest early signal wasn’t traffic or waitlist numbers, it was when users came back without me reminding them. That usually meant the product solved a real recurring problem instead of just sounding interesting. The second big signal was people asking for specific features or workflows. Once users start trying to shape the product around their needs, it’s usually a much stronger sign than compliments or likes. Honestly, I’d value repeat usage, willingness to pay and users actively giving feedback way more than vanity metrics early on. A small group of genuinely engaged users is usually more valuable than a huge waitlist with low intent.

First payment. Everything before that, waitlist signups, feedback, compliments, can just be people being polite or curious. The moment someone pulled out a card and paid, even if it was just $10, that was the signal. It means they believed it would solve a problem enough to spend money, not just time. The second signal was when someone paid and then came back a week later asking how to do something, meaning they were actually using it. Retention is harder to measure early on but usage within the first week after payment told me more than any waitlist ever did. Don't overbuild. Get something barely functional in front of people and see if they'll pay for the promise of where it's going.

First real signal for me was someone asking unprompted when a specific feature would be ready. Not a generic 'this looks cool' but actively planning around it. The second was users complaining about edge cases that only matter if you're using the product daily. Compliments are noise, requests and complaints are signal. If your earliest users only have nice things to say, they probably aren't using it enough to care yet.

Took like 5 months but when people started asking how much? Or start justifying the price. Like I would pay $20/mo for this or something like that. That’s when I knew I was onto something tangible.