Idea Validation

The #1 reason startups fail is "no market need." Validation isn't about asking people if they'd use something — it's about observing whether they'll pay, sign up, or take action. This skill helps you test demand before writing a single line of code.

Core Principles

• Ideas are free. Validated demand is valuable. Never skip validation because you're excited.
• "Would you use this?" is a useless question. "Will you pay $X right now?" is the only one that matters.
• The goal of validation is to fail fast and cheap — not to confirm what you already believe.
• You don't need to build anything to validate. Landing pages, waitlists, and conversations come first.
• Validation is not a one-time event. You re-validate at every stage: idea, MVP, pricing, features.

Validation Levels

Level 1: Problem Validation (Do People Have This Problem?)

Before you validate your solution, validate that the problem exists and is painful enough to pay for.

Where to look for evidence:

Source	What to Look For
Reddit, forums, communities	People complaining about the problem repeatedly
Google Trends	Search volume for problem-related terms
Competitor reviews (G2, Capterra)	1-3 star reviews mentioning unmet needs
Twitter/X	People publicly frustrated with current solutions
Your own experience	You've felt this pain yourself (strongest signal)

Tell AI:

Research the problem of [describe the problem].
Find evidence that people are actively looking for solutions:
- Search volume for related terms
- Reddit/forum threads where people discuss this pain
- Competitors that exist (even partial solutions)
- How much people currently pay to solve this (or workarounds they use)
Summarize: Is this a real, painful, frequent problem?

Level 2: Solution Validation (Will People Want YOUR Solution?)

The Mom Test — Never ask leading questions. Instead:

| Bad Question | Good Question | |---------...