Week Two of Validation: Finding the Right Customer

Last week I wrote about starting this validation process. This week I actually found the customer I have been looking for, and I also got a signal I wasn't expecting at the end.

I started by talking to landlords on the larger end. People managing 20-plus properties, some with 10 or more. Most of them were already using software or had systems in place. The consistent thing they told me was that they could see this kind of tool being useful, just not for them. They kept pointing down the ladder: someone who isn't doing this full-time, someone who only has a few properties and is still figuring it out. That was useful to hear. The bigger operators were pointing me toward exactly who I wanted to talk to.

So I went and found those people.

The most memorable conversation of the week was with a guy in Austin who owns four properties. I went in expecting a quick 15 to 20 minutes and ended up talking for 40. He gave me his whole background in real estate, how he got his first property, why he picked up the others, and how he manages everything today.

The honest answer was that at four properties, things feel manageable. He has a rhythm. Nothing feels broken. But he was clear about where the line is for him: once he crosses five properties, he knows he is going to need software. Right now he can hold it all together, but he can see the point where that stops being true.

That was not a hard no. That was a "not yet, but soon." And that is actually useful.

I had a similar conversation with a friend of mine who owns one property. Same story. Everything feels fine. No urgent pain. Which tracks, because one property is really just one relationship to manage.

One thing worth mentioning about how I approached both conversations: I have been reading The Mom Test and it has genuinely changed how I run these calls. I am not telling people about my idea and asking if they like it. I am asking about their life, their workflow, and the moments that felt annoying or expensive. That keeps me from getting false positives and helps me hear what's actually true.

The most interesting part of the week came at the end of that Austin call. Before we wrapped up, he mentioned something I had not been thinking about at all: commercial real estate. He said the people managing commercial properties are often older, have been doing it for decades, and still run everything out of Excel. No real software, no automation, just spreadsheets and phone calls.

He thought that was a bigger opportunity than the residential side I have been focused on.

I am not pivoting based on one comment, but it's the kind of thing I want to keep pulling on. The residential small landlord space is validating slowly. The customer is real, but the pain is not always urgent enough to move them. That might be fine. Or it might mean I need to look harder at who actually has a problem they'd pay to solve today.

More conversations ahead.