Why 90% of great ideas never make their first dollar
Hey Product Hunt Community! 👋🏼
After talking to thousands of creators and first-time founders, I discovered something that keeps killing great products before they even launch:
Most ideas die in the gap between "This could work" and "Here's version 1."
I call it the Idea to Action Gap and it's where dreams go to die.
The same 6 questions kill momentum every time:
Should I build a landing page first?
What tool do I use?
Do I need a logo? A brand name?
What should I price it at?
What if no one signs up?
Is it even good enough to launch?
Sound familiar? I've been there too.
The Real Solution:
I sat on the idea for Nas Daily for months. Nothing happened… until I gave myself one brutal constraint:
Make 1-minute videos. Every day. No excuses.
That decision changed everything. I stopped overthinking and just built and shipped. Those 1,000 daily videos became 70 million followers, 20 billion views and a global media company.
Since then, I've watched the same pattern with others. When you kill the options and just start, momentum builds itself.
Let's talk:
👉 If you've shipped something: What's the ONE thing that finally got you to hit publish?
👉 If you're stuck: What's your biggest blocker right now?
👉 If you're just thinking about it: What's your biggest fear about launching?
Drop your answer below. This is something I think about a lot.
Replies
Nas.io
@nyassin14 That “Idea to Action Gap” is painfully real for many of the people we meet each day.
In meetings, I find people delaying their launch because they are still perfecting it—only to realize that success only comes from publishing and iterating, not overthinking.
That is why I always try to push for consistent action over a perfect launch.
Most ideas never earn their first dollar because they stall at execution or market validation. Turning an idea into revenue takes focus, persistence, and real customer traction.
@nuseir_yassin1 :) Great to see your post. Your content has inspired several developers to keep building consistently. Congratulations!
Absolutely resonate with the "idea to action gap" insight (gap in terms of time and growth).
I have found that pushing through that "early uncertainty" has been key for me (in terms of identifying top features to be included, tool selection etc).
I have been building and shipping small apps consistently, even when traction is slow or monetization isn't clear.
That habit of execution helps me streamline ideas, test faster and refine what works.
Not every product takes off (most don't), but everyone of them teaches me something (what is technically feasible with available tools and resources etc) and sharpens the next.
Apps like SayWhatGPT, PromptBoost and MailTuner came from simply following curiosity, and I started treating the slower performance ones as stepping stones, not failures.
I learnt that "momentum" doesn't (does!) come from thinking, it comes from doing, even that means 10 quiet launches before 1 sticks (I guess, I need to wait longer than expected).