Validating Ideas

Finding a real problem and proving people have it before you build.

Tech Entrepreneur

Find a problem worth solving and prove people have it. Where every first-time founder starts.

Core: start here

The Mom TestAsking about people's past behavior so even your mom can't lie to you about your idea.
Customer InterviewsTalking to potential users to learn about their problems, not to pitch.
Problem DiscoveryFinding problems people actually have, instead of starting from a solution.
Lean StartupBuilding companies by testing assumptions with small experiments instead of big plans.
Problem-Solution FitEvidence that your solution addresses a problem real people care about.

14 more idea concepts

Riskiest AssumptionThe belief that kills the company if wrong, which you should test first.
Build-Measure-LearnThe loop of shipping something small, measuring what happens and deciding what's next.
Customer SegmentsGroups of customers with the same problem, budget and buying behavior.
TAM, SAM, SOMTotal, serviceable and obtainable market: sizing how big the opportunity really is.
Competitor AnalysisUnderstanding who else solves the problem, including spreadsheets and doing nothing.
Jobs to Be DoneSeeing products as something customers hire to make progress in a situation.
Concierge MVPDelivering the service by hand to a few customers before automating anything.
Early AdoptersThe first customers who'll use an unfinished product because they need it badly.
Landing Page TestMeasuring interest with a landing page and sign-up form before building the product.
Willingness to PayHow much a customer would pay, which you learn from behavior, not from asking.
Pre-sellingGetting customers to pay or commit before the product is built.
Fake Door TestOffering a feature that doesn't exist yet to see how many people try to use it.
Wizard of Oz MVPA product that looks automated to users while people do the work behind the scenes.
Painkiller vs VitaminWhether your product solves an urgent pain or is merely nice to have.