Validate an idea before you build it

Use this first, to turn a rough idea into something you can test.

Here is my idea: [YOUR IDEA IN A FEW SENTENCES]. Ask me up to 6 questions, one at a time, to understand it. Then rewrite it in this shape: 1. For: the specific person or business it is for. 2. Problem: the problem they have, in their words. 3. Today: what they do about it now. 4. My answer: what I would offer. 5. Why me: why I am in a good position to do this. 6. Money: who pays, and roughly how much. Mark any line where my answers were vague with "(unclear)". Those are the first things we need to test.

Swap the highlighted parts for your own words.

Tip

• If you can't fill in "For" with a specific group, fix that first. Prompt 2 helps.

Use this when the "For" line is broad, such as "everyone" or "small businesses".

Help me narrow down who this is for. Give me 4 possible early buyers, each a specific type of person or business. For each one, tell me how badly they feel the problem, whether they already spend money on it, and how easy they are for me to reach. Then describe the best one as a single realistic person: their job, a normal day, the moment the problem hits, and what they have already tried. Mark every detail you are guessing, so I know what to check when I talk to real people.

Tip

• Early buyers are people who feel the problem most. They are more forgiving of a rough first version.

Use this to check the problem is worth solving before you think about the product.

Judge the problem on its own, ignoring my solution for now. Score it from 1 to 5 on each point, and explain each score in one sentence: 1. Pain: how much it hurts when it happens. 2. Frequency: how often it happens. 3. Spending: whether people already pay money or spend time to fix it. 4. Urgency: whether they want it solved this month or someday. 5. Awareness: whether they know they have the problem. Then tell me what kind of problem this looks like: one people pay to solve, one they complain about but live with, or one I have mostly imagined. Be honest.

Tip

• If Pain and Spending both score low, go back to prompt 2 and try a different buyer before you give up on the idea.

Use this to see what your buyers use today, including doing nothing.

List the alternatives my buyer has today. Include: 1. Direct competitors: products or services that do much the same thing. 2. Indirect options: spreadsheets, notebooks, hiring someone, a general tool used in a clever way. 3. Doing nothing and living with it. If you can search the web, search for current direct competitors and include their names, prices and links. If you cannot search, say so, and give me the exact search terms to use myself. For each alternative, say what it does well and where it leaves buyers unhappy. Then tell me where there is a real gap, or tell me plainly if you do not see one.

Tips

• Read the bad reviews of competitors. They show what buyers wish someone would fix.
• Having competitors is often a good sign. It means people pay to solve the problem.

Use this before any test. It tells you what to test first.

List every assumption my idea depends on. Include assumptions about the buyer, the problem, the price, how I will reach buyers, and whether I can build and deliver it. For each assumption, rate: 1. How bad it would be if it is wrong, from 1 to 5. 2. How much evidence I have for it right now, from 1 to 5, based only on what I told you. Sort the list so the assumptions that would hurt most and have the least evidence come first. Then name the single riskiest assumption, explain why, and say what result from a test would prove it wrong.

Tips

• The assumptions you never wrote down are the hardest to spot. This prompt makes you list them.
• Test the riskiest assumption first, even if a different test feels more fun.

Use this to find risks you are too close to see.

Imagine it is 12 months from now. I built this idea and it failed. Write the honest story of why it failed, in about 200 words. Base it on the weak points in this chat. Make it realistic and specific. Then list the 5 causes of failure from the story. For each one, give me a cheap way to check, in the next 2 weeks, whether it is likely to happen.

Tips

• This is called a pre mortem. It makes it easier to name risks without feeling negative about your idea.
• Run it twice. The second story often finds different causes.

Use this before you talk to possible buyers.

Write a 15 minute interview script I can use with possible buyers. Rules: 1. Ask about their past behaviour, such as "Tell me about the last time this happened" and "What did you do about it?". Avoid questions about the future, such as "Would you use this?", because people tend to say yes to be polite. 2. Do not describe my idea until the last 2 minutes, if at all. 3. Include questions about what they have already tried and what it cost them in money or time. 4. End by asking who else I should talk to. Give me 8 to 10 questions with a short note on why each one matters. Then give me a short message to invite people to a call.

Tips

• Let them do most of the talking. Save your idea for the end.
• The book The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick covers this style of interview in depth.

Use this after 5 to 10 conversations.

Here are my notes from conversations with possible buyers: <notes> [PASTE YOUR NOTES, ONE CONVERSATION PER PARAGRAPH] </notes> Analyse them: 1. How many people described the problem without me prompting them. 2. What they already do about it and what it costs them. Quote them. 3. Signs of real commitment, such as asking to try it, offering to pay or introducing me to someone, and signs of politeness only, such as "sounds cool". 4. What this means for my riskiest assumption. Do not count compliments as evidence. Then tell me plainly whether the evidence supports the idea, goes against it, or is not enough yet.

Swap the highlighted parts for your own words.

Tip

• Compliments are weak evidence. Look for people who give up time, money or a contact.

Use this to test the riskiest assumption without building the product.

Design 3 tests for my riskiest assumption. Each test must cost under [YOUR BUDGET, FOR EXAMPLE £50] and take under 7 days. Ideas to consider: a simple landing page with a sign up button, a pre sale where people pay a small deposit, doing the service by hand for a few people, or a short post asking people to join a waiting list. For each test, tell me: 1. Exactly what to do, step by step. 2. What I need and what it costs. 3. The number that counts as a pass, decided before I run the test. For example, "10 sign ups from 200 visitors". 4. What I will do if it passes and what I will do if it fails. Recommend which test to run first.

Swap the highlighted parts for your own words.

Tips

• Write down the pass number before you start. It stops you moving the goalposts later.
• A small payment is much stronger evidence than an email sign up.

Use this if you chose a landing page test.

Write the words for a one page website to test my idea with my buyer. Include: 1. A headline that names the problem or the result in plain words. 2. Two or three sentences on what the product does. 3. Three short points on what the buyer gets. 4. One button with a clear action, such as "Join the waiting list" or "Reserve a spot for £10". 5. A short line that is honest that the product is not ready yet. Write it for my buyer, using their words from my interview notes if I shared them. Keep it under 150 words. Do not promise results I cannot deliver.

Tip

• Say on the page that it's early. That keeps the test honest, and sign ups still tell you who wants it.

Use this when your tests are finished.

Here are the results of my tests: <results> [EACH TEST, THE PASS NUMBER YOU SET, AND WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED] </results> Make a go or no go recommendation. Use this structure: 1. For each test: pass or fail against the number I set beforehand. 2. What we now know about the riskiest assumption. 3. Your recommendation: go, change and retest, or stop. Pick one. 4. Your reasons, in 3 to 5 sentences. 5. If go: the next 3 steps. If change: what to change and what to test next. If stop: what I learned that I can use for my next idea. Be honest even if the answer is stop. Stopping now costs me much less than stopping after months of building.

Swap the highlighted parts for your own words.

Tips

• Stopping after a cheap test is a useful result. You can put that time into your next idea.
• If the answer is go, paste the sharpened idea from prompt 1 into the first prompt of the Build me anything pack.