Why “Great Job” doesn’t mean you’re actually creating value
I spent two years draining my savings and 401K.
Until it became clear: I needed proof that what I was doing was actually valuable.
When I got my first payment outside a job setting, my entire mind got rewired.
I realized the value of capturing value was as high as creating it.
Before that, I’d quit my well-paying job. Bought into the silicon valley dream. I drove west with $60K in savings and a dream that felt real at 27. Forging my own way and building my dream, one website feature at a time. All the while I was in business school, the money I had saved up from six years before was on a constant downward slope.
Then I moved to Nigeria after Palo Alto. The business had transformed. I had to create something new. I did. People used it for free. They said it was quite valuable.
But when it was time to pay. Ghosts. The messages went silent.
After months in the wilderness of broke town.
Then it came. Money hit my account.
It answered a question I’d been asking for two years: Was what I was doing actually valuable?
I just wished I was more sincere about answering that question sooner.
Getting people to pay is an indication that they are willing to trade their energy with you.
Being a starving artist isn’t noble. It’s just plain old broke.
And if you’re secretly wishing you weren’t broke, it’s time to charge.
When I got that first payment, the world opened up for me. I remember having this feeling that I could change things. I could mold reality. I stood outside the coffee shop, inspired to do it again.
It was validation that what I had been working on was useful.
Up until then, I thought I was doing something useful, but I wasn’t sure. I was connecting entrepreneurs with market insights they needed to succeed in an emerging market. I had a shortlist of experts that I connected aspiring entrepreneurs with.
I paid experts for their time, justifying it as the cost of building a network effect.
I wanted to create value, and I probably was.
Every new feature update or pivot was wrapped up in encouraging words from friends and family.
“Great job.”
“I love what you’re building.”
“This should have existed two years ago.”
These were nice dopamine hits. But they faded later at night when I was reminded about another payment withdrawn from my bank account.
All the nice talk didn’t matter.
Getting paid was the leading sign that I needed.
I’ve kept this as a reminder on my entrepreneurial journey.
However, I see aspiring founders dismissing this validation, saying, “I don’t do this for the money.” Usually, they’re broke. And secretly, they wish they weren’t.
It’s an unaffordable lie.
Van Gogh died broke. His paintings now sell for $100M+ each. Don’t be Van Gogh. Get paid while you’re still alive.
His story is a warning for anyone building now.
That’s why I’m not waiting. And neither should you – start asking for payment while you’re still hungry to build.
For me it started with one adjustment: changing my relationship with money.
Money is energy exchange.
When I got that first payment, it meant one thing. Someone traded their money for my time. That’s it. No philosophy. Just proof that what I built mattered to them.
It’s simple math.
But money is not just validation. It’s fuel. It lets you feed yourself, care for your family, and have the space to create more value. Without it, you chase validation in all the wrong places. You question if what you’re doing matters. You become the starving artist cliché.
I got a lot of “Thank you. This is great, Nifemi.” But here’s the reality – thank-yous don’t pay rent.
Aspiring entrepreneurs sometimes learn this too late.
They wait for the world to tell them they are creating value. Nah, don’t wait. Go find out.
Here’s what I’ve learned: people don’t believe this until they’ve felt it. And the fastest way to feel it? Price your expertise and watch who values it.
Put a price on it. Your $100 paid pilot.
Package one thing you know. Price it at $100. Send it to three people.
Here’s what I’m noticing in the practice ground: If you can’t communicate value, you can’t capture it. And if you can’t capture it, you stop creating.
Sell from day 1. Package your expertise as time. Find who values it.
The implementation is simple: Create a simple offer. Put a price on it. Get it in front of people. Done.
You don’t need a product. My first business was me, an Excel sheet, and emails about how I could help.
If they don’t buy, that’s fine. Keep going until you find who it’s valuable for or fine-tune what you’re offering.
Rejection is 90% of the game.
In my first year, I pitched this service to 120 people. 117 said no. 3 said yes. Those 3 paid for everything that came next — and taught me more about my market than any focus group ever could.’ (deepens the lesson, shows ROI of rejection
Now here’s what you can test this week to validate your idea.
Package one thing you know into a 30-minute service. Put a $100 price on it. Send it to three people.
That’s your validation test.
Start by asking yourself a hard question: “Who struggles with the problem I solve?” Write that down. Then list the three specific ways you’d help them get there.
Now distill it into a one-page offer document (google doc). I used a simple structure: Problem (what they struggle with), Agitate (why it matters), Solve (what I offer). You can dictate this into ChatGPT and get something workable in minutes.
Next, stop designing and start shipping.
Sign up for Stripe. Price it at $100. Add the link to your google doc. Then send it to people and ask them to book.
I started at $100 because it’s high enough to signal seriousness but low enough that three people might say yes.
That’s the whole system. Sounds too easy? It is. Which is why most people don’t do it.
The hard part isn’t the setup. It’s following through when rejections show up.
But rejection isn’t failure – it’s data
Either you’re not communicating value clearly, or you’re talking to the wrong people. Keep going until you find who it resonates with.
Closing Reflection:
I waited 12 years to understand this.
Those sleepless nights staring at my depleting bank account – I thought they were the price of being a “real founder.” They weren’t.
Here’s how I move now – I built a tool for my own business. I tested it with a few people. Now I’m putting a $100 price tag on it. Simple. If it’s valuable, people pay.
Back then, I searched for validation in all the wrong places. Friends’ encouragement, feature launches, and my own optimism. None of that paid the rent.
The money did. And it would have answered my question years earlier.
Every month I delayed was data I didn’t collect. Every rejection could have been a course correction. Start today so you don’t spend 12 years learning what you can know this week.
So start today. Package one thing you know. Price it at $100. Send it to three people. Get feedback before Friday.
That’s your validation. That’s your proof.
Yours truly,
Nifemi
P.S. Before you share this, do one thing: send that $100 offer to one person today. That’s your real proof. Then share this article with one person that’s building something new.
