Discussion
Steve Blank
piker: This is great advice (that we need to follow) but needs to be updated for 2026. The information value of providing (or receiving) a demo has dropped to roughly zero with vibe coding. Today, an apparently functional and useful product can be produced and demoed in minutes, but that demo provides absolutely zero information into the technical capabilities of the demoing team to follow through on promises with polish and at scale. It doesn't reflect a studied architecture or edge case endling. It basically only shows a vision, which can be tailored to perfectly mirror the recipient's expressed desire even though it's absolute vaporware. This makes it even harder to sell to enterprise in 2026 when the scene is awash in such noise.
lbriner: This is such good advice.I think new founders are sometimes intimidated by customers, especially well-known brands, we don't want to upset or annoy them instead of being open about not being able to afford to run loads of pre-sales technical work. We also see the dollar signs for one large customer when we should be seeing smaller dollar signs for many customers.For the customers, to be fair, they are partly trying to derisk the purchasing decision by making sure everyone and their dog has seen the demo, shown that it definitely does exactly what they want with their data and processes etc. and they have no skin in the game at this point, so why not?Believe in the product you have built already and as the OP says, be certain of product market fit and ABC (always be closing).
tonyedgecombe: >We’re excited. When can you come back and show us a prototype?”When you've put your hand in your pocket.
bertil: What do you mean by that? Promise some investment? Commit to something?
keiferski: In my experience demos are half about the product and half about the team / company behind it. So I wouldn’t call its value zero: part of the reason a potential client is asking for a demo is to see if there’s actually a real, intelligent company behind the product.
cmrdporcupine: Right, and the story now shifts to: What's your customer service & support model? How can you prove this is stable and that you can maintain it? Who is going to handle the pages in the middle of the night?
firemelt: I wish hackernews submissions is more like this
PandaRider: What would you mean "more like this"?The headline is borderline clickbaity. Specifically the word "Ruthless" made me think of something unethical like Delve's business.[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47634690
lelanthran: >> We’re excited. When can you come back and show us a prototype?”> When you've put your hand in your pocket.I thought the same thing. From my reading of "The Mom Test", my sales strategy changed to incorporate the lies that a business would tell you to avoid hurting your feelings.Basically, if you cannot give me a purchase order after seeing the software, you don't want it!I do like the idea of a cancellable purchase order that they sign: organisations need an earthquake to move them sometimes. Once that thing is approved and signed by the powers that be, absolutely no one in that org is going to bother cancelling it and going with a competitor.
user_7832: > The information value of providing (or receiving) a demo has dropped to roughly zero with vibe coding.Only if you're a software-only startup. If you have hardware, the entire article is still valid.
