u/Buskeyyy

My name’s Abin Johnson. I’m 15.

I started coding at 9, and got into startups around 13. Since then, I’ve gone through a few hundred ideas and built more projects than I can properly keep track of.

And the biggest pattern I keep seeing (including in myself early on):

Most people aren’t stuck because they lack skill.
They’re stuck because they’re addicted to having ideas.

It feels productive:

• brainstorming
• refining concepts
• planning features

But none of that actually tests reality.

At some point I had to force a shift:
from “this is a good idea” → “this needs to prove itself fast”

Now my approach is simple:

• if I can’t validate the core idea quickly, I drop it
• if I feel attached too early, I assume I’m biased
• if something needs weeks of planning, it’s probably not strong

Most of what I build gets killed early.

That’s intentional.

Because I’d rather go through 50 bad ideas fast than spend months protecting one that doesn’t work.

Another thing I’ve noticed:

A lot of people separate learning and building.
They “prepare” for months before they start.

I don’t.

If I need something, I learn it while building and apply it immediately.
That loop alone has probably saved me years.

I’m not claiming success, I haven’t built anything big yet.

But I can already see a clear split:
people who are stacking reps vs people who are stacking ideas

And the gap grows faster than most expect.

Curious from people further ahead:

What’s one mindset or habit you had to kill before you started making real progress?

My name’s Abin Johnson. I’m 15.

I started coding at 9. Got into startups at 13.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve gone through a few hundred ideas and built more projects than I can properly keep track of.

And here’s the uncomfortable thing I’ve realized:

Most people don’t fail because they’re not smart enough.
They fail because they’re addicted to the feeling of having ideas.

I see the same pattern everywhere:

• polishing ideas instead of testing them
• overbuilding instead of validating
• getting emotionally attached to something that hasn’t earned it

It’s not a skill issue. It’s an ego issue.

At some point I had to force myself out of that loop.

Now my default is:

• if an idea can’t prove itself quickly, it’s gone
• if I catch myself getting attached early, I kill it
• if it needs weeks of “planning,” it’s probably weak

Most of what I touch dies fast.

That’s intentional.

Because speed isn’t just about building faster, it’s about realizing you’re wrong faster.

The other thing most people get wrong:

They treat learning and building as separate phases.

They’ll spend months “preparing” to build something.

I don’t.

If I need something, I learn it while building and use it immediately.
No courses, no waiting until I feel “ready.”

That alone compounds faster than anything else I’ve seen.

I’m not saying I’ve “made it”, I haven’t.

But I can already see the gap between:
people who are stacking reps
vs
people who are stacking ideas

And it widens way faster than most expect.

If you’ve actually built things (not just thought about them):

What’s the one behavior you had to kill to stop being average?

Been looking into how gated community apps work (like MyGate, ADDA), and I think the frustration people have isn’t just bad UX, it’s more structural.

Most of these systems are built around centralized control.

One platform handles everything:

• visitor logs
• resident data
• deliveries
• guard activity

Which sounds efficient… but also means someone ends up having visibility into all of it.

That’s where things start to feel off:

• residents aren’t sure who can access their data
• guards are forced into rigid, often confusing workflows
• committees get control, but not always clarity

And then it shows up as the usual complaints:

• notification spam
• awkward apps for security staff
• vague answers around privacy

The tricky part is—this isn’t easy to fix.

If you reduce control → you lose visibility
If you increase privacy → operations get harder
If you simplify UX → you lose flexibility

It’s basically a tradeoff between:
convenience, control, and privacy

Most platforms just pick 1–2 and accept the downsides.

We’ve been experimenting with a system where even the platform itself doesn’t have access to user data—it changes how everything has to be designed. Things like permissions, logs, even how guards interact with the system end up being very different.

Still early, but it made me realize how much of the current experience is shaped by architecture decisions people don’t usually see.

Curious how others here think about this:

• Is privacy actually a real concern in these apps, or more theoretical?
• What’s been your biggest frustration using them?
• If you could fix one thing, what would it be?

Last week I stopped tweaking my idea and did something uncomfortable:

I spoke to 10 actual people who fit my target market.

Not other founders. Not friends. Real users.

What changed:

• 3 assumptions I was confident about were completely wrong
• Pricing I had in mind was way off
• The “main feature” wasn’t even what they cared about

Honestly, if I had started building, I would’ve wasted at least a month.

The hardest part wasn’t the interviews, it was finding the right people and getting them to actually respond.

I’ve been building a small system to solve exactly that, and testing it on myself.

If you’ve done proper validation before, what was your biggest “oh shoot” moment?

(Name I’m testing for it: ProofStack AI)

I’ve been trying to get better at actual validation (not just convincing myself an idea is good), so sharing what I’ve tried so far:

I recently used proofstack-ai (got into the beta), mainly to find and connect with early potential users. Honestly, the biggest value wasn’t the tool itself, it just forced me to start conversations with people who might actually care.

A few things I’ve noticed:

• Getting real conversations is harder than expected
• People are nice… but “sounds cool” ≠ real demand
• It’s surprisingly easy to misread early signals if you want the idea to work

I still don’t feel like I have a clean definition of what “validated” actually means.

So I’m curious how others here approach it:

• What’s your step-by-step before you build anything?
• How do you filter out polite feedback vs real intent?
• What’s the strongest signal you’ve personally seen?

Would love to hear honest experiences, especially stuff that didn’t work.

I’ve been looking at a lot of early-stage ideas lately, and the same pattern keeps showing up:
people build first, then try to find users later.

So here’s a basic validation framework you can try:

1. Define the problem in one sentence If it takes you a paragraph, it’s probably not clear yet.
2. Identify a specific user “Everyone” is not a user. “Freelance designers struggling with client onboarding” is.
3. Ask: how are they solving this today? If the answer is “nothing,” that’s usually a red flag—not an opportunity.
4. Test willingness to act (not just interest) Would they sign up? Pre-order? Even a small commitment matters more than “this sounds cool.”
5. Talk to at least 5 real people Not friends. Not other founders. Actual potential users.

If anyone wants, drop your idea in the comments and I’ll help break it down using this.
No promises I’ll be nice, but it’ll be honest.