I Built a Waitlist Landing Page for PlebTest (For Founders Who Hate Cold Calls)
#Founders Who Hate Cold Calls (Including Me)
How PlebTest helps you validate your startup idea without the awkward phone calls
I've been there. You have a startup idea burning in your brain. You know the "right" way to validate it: pick up the phone, cold-call strangers, ask them about their problems, try not to sound desperate.
But here's the thing nobody talks about — most founders never make those calls.
Not because they're lazy. Not because they don't care. But because cold outreach is genuinely awful. It's awkward. It's time-consuming. And let's be honest — it's emotionally draining to hear strangers poke holes in your baby.
So what happens? We skip customer discovery entirely. We build first, validate later (if at all). And then we wonder why 90% of startups fail from "no market need."
The Problem Isn't Building — It's Picking Up the Phone
When I started working on PlebTest, I wasn't trying to replace customer interviews. I was trying to solve a specific problem:
How do introverted, technical founders get honest feedback on their ideas without the soul-crushing experience of cold outreach?
The answer wasn't "just do the interviews anyway" (thanks, advice Twitter). The answer was building a tool that simulates those conversations with AI personas — skeptical ones, not cheerleaders.
What PlebTest Actually Does
Here's the core loop:
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You describe your idea and target customer — Tell me what you're building and who it's for. Be specific about the persona you're trying to reach.
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I generate skeptical AI personas — Not generic ChatGPT responses. These are realistic customers based on your ICP, deliberately skewed toward skeptics. People who already use competitors. People who've tried similar solutions and quit.
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You interview the personas — Use Mom-Test-style questions, ask your own, or respond to their pushback. This is where the real learning happens.
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You get a Kill/Pivot/Build verdict — Not a prediction. Not a revenue estimate. Just a clear pattern analysis: What are the top objections? What assumptions are you making? Should you kill this idea, pivot it, or build it?
Why Not Just Use ChatGPT?
Fair question. I asked it myself.
The problem with ChatGPT (and most AI assistants) is sycophancy. Ask ChatGPT "Is my startup idea good?" and it'll say "Yes! Here are 10 reasons why it's amazing!"
That's not helpful. That's dangerous.
PlebTest is different:
| ChatGPT Response | PlebTest Persona Response |
|---|---|
| "That's a great idea! Here's how to build it..." | "I already use Rover. Unless you're half the price, I'm not switching." |
| "Users would love this feature!" | "I'd use this for recipes, but I won't pay monthly. Make it one-time." |
| "The market opportunity is huge!" | "I chase payments manually every month. I'd pay $10/mo to stop that." |
The goal isn't validation. It's de-risking. Better to hear "this won't work" from an AI persona than from your bank account six months from now.
Who This Is For
I built PlebTest for founders like me:
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Founders who would rather code than cold-call — You have the skills to build anything. Picking up the phone to talk to strangers? That's the hard part.
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Anxious first-timers who dread "Do you have 15 minutes to chat?" — The thought of cold outreach makes your stomach turn. You'd rather validate quietly before going public.
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Side-hustlers who need to sanity-check ideas before burning evenings and savings — You can't afford to waste months on a dud. You need honest feedback fast, not cheerleading.
What You Get
Every validation session ends with a verdict card:
- KILL — "Risk Score: High (87)" — The objections are too strong. Better ideas await.
- PIVOT — "Risk Score: Medium (52)" — There's something here, but not in its current form.
- BUILD — "Risk Score: Low (23)" — The patterns look good. Time to ship.
No wishy-washy "it depends." No hedge-your-bets analysis. Just a clear recommendation based on patterns from your simulated interviews.
The Landing Page Journey
Building this landing page taught me something important: clarity beats cleverness.
My first draft talked about "AI-powered market analysis" and "comprehensive competitor research." Generic startup-speak that could describe any validation tool.
The breakthrough came when I reframed around the emotional problem: founders don't skip validation because they're lazy — they skip it because it's painful.
So the headline became: "Get Brutally Honest Feedback Without Picking Up the Phone"
And the value prop became: "AI personas challenge your startup idea with real objections — so you know whether to kill it, pivot, or build."
Early Access Pricing
Since I'm still building the MVP, I'm offering early access pricing:
- Starting from $7.95/mo + free credits
- Solo plan: 1 product, 10 interviews/month, Kill/Pivot/Build verdict, Shareable report
- Growth plan: 3 products, 30 interviews/month, Multiple ICPs, Anti-sycophancy pushback presets
Prices will go up at launch. If you join the waitlist now, you lock in founder pricing.
Join the Waitlist
If any of this resonates — if you've got an idea you're excited about but haven't validated because the thought of cold outreach makes you want to crawl under your desk — join the waitlist at plebtest.com.
No spam. No pressure. Just early access when the MVP is ready.
Because your idea deserves honest feedback. And you deserve to get it without the awkward phone calls.
Building PlebTest in public. Follow along for updates on the journey from landing page to MVP.