From 0 signal to 128 cold signups: product validation on a $2K budget—Martian Chronicles, Evil Martians’ team blog
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A case study from Evil Martians on validating product demand for Thicket, an educational marketplace, using a $2K ad budget. The playbook covers sequencing analytics tools (Plausible, PostHog, GA4), configuring Google Ads as a signal pipeline before scaling spend, running disciplined A/B tests with cold traffic at 95% statistical confidence, and building three feedback channels for pricing, unmet demand, and engagement depth. The result: 36K impressions, 128 cold-traffic waitlist signups, and a founder-operable validation infrastructure that scales to warm channels without rebuilding.
Table of contents
Validation is infrastructure, not a campaignGoogle Ads as a signal pipelineA/B testing with cold trafficScaling a winning signalThree feedback channelsFounder empowermentResults at a glanceThe cold truth and the takeawaySort: