Idea4 min read
How to validate a business idea
Prove people want it before you spend real money or months of time.
Validation means collecting evidence that real people have the problem and will pay to solve it. Opinions from friends don't count; behavior does.
The fastest validation methods
- Customer conversations: talk to 10–20 people who match your target customer. Ask about the problem and what they do today, not whether they like your idea.
- Pre-sales or deposits: offer the product before it exists. A paid deposit is the strongest signal there is.
- Landing page test: describe the offer, add a sign-up or "reserve" button, and send a little traffic to it.
- Manual first version: deliver the service by hand to a few customers before building anything.
Questions that get honest answers
- "Tell me about the last time you dealt with this problem."
- "What did you do about it? What did that cost you?"
- "What have you tried that didn't work?"
- "If this were solved, what would that be worth to you?"
Signals you're onto something
- People describe the problem without prompting and get animated about it.
- They're already spending money or time on a workaround.
- Someone asks "when can I get it?" or pays a deposit.
If you hear polite interest but no urgency, adjust the customer, the problem, or the offer, and test again. That's normal, not failure.