“the idea of a database came to my mind and I just started building it out because it's something I'd use myself and I figured with AI I could turn this into a fully-fledged SaaS if enough people wanted it”

Build something you would use yourself before asking anyone else to

Polus did not survey potential customers or run ads to validate. He identified a tool he personally needed for his own creator-led work, built it, and treated his own conviction as the first signal. The $20-30 sales on launch night confirmed what he already suspected — the market existed because he was the market.