Here are some things that are NOT validation for your startup in the AI era

❌ VC funding - They have no idea what's going on right now either

❌ Academic endorsement - They don't know what users really need

❌ Media coverage - They just need to fill column inches and air time

❌ Government Grant Beuracrats - They REALLY don't know what's going on

❌ Nice words from your former colleagues - Your MVP should be embarrassing!

❌ Nice words from potential customers - People just like to be nice

❌ 1 or 2 big enterprise clients paying you to do something custom for them - You can't scale this

The only thing that really matters for validation is...

✅ Real users REALLY using your product (Do this first)

✅ Real users paying for your product (Do this second)