A validation checklist keeps you honest. Excitement makes it easy to skip the questions whose answers you are afraid of. Work through the list below in order; each section has a pass condition, and a failed section tells you what to fix before you spend money building.
Research
- 1One-sentence idea
- 2Map competitors
- 3Read their pricing
Evidence
- 4Check search demand
- 5Find the gap
- 6Talk to customers
Decision
- 7Go, pivot or stop
1. The problem
- ☐ I can describe the problem in one sentence, in the customer's words.
- ☐ I know who has this problem specifically (not “everyone”).
- ☐ I know how they solve it today, even badly.
- ☐ The problem costs them money, time or risk they can name.
Pass if: you can name the customer and what the problem costs them.
2. The customer
- ☐ I have spoken to at least ten people who have the problem.
- ☐ At least some of them already pay for a partial solution.
- ☐ I know where these customers gather: communities, events, publications, search.
- ☐ I can reach a hundred of them without paid ads.
Pass if: real people confirmed the problem without you leading them.
3. The competition
- ☐ I have checked whether the idea already exists (see how to know if your business idea already exists).
- ☐ I have listed direct competitors, indirect competitors and the alternative.
- ☐ I know what each competitor charges.
- ☐ I have read their negative reviews.
- ☐ I can say which customer they serve badly.
Pass if: you can name a customer or need the incumbents underserve.
4. Demand
- ☐ People search for the problem (check keyword volume, not just your product name).
- ☐ Advertisers pay for clicks on those searches (cost per click above zero).
- ☐ There is discussion of the problem on Reddit, forums or review sites.
- ☐ Interest is stable or growing (Google Trends).
Pass if: at least two of the four show real activity. The guide on estimating demand with search volume explains how to read the numbers.
5. The economics
- ☐ I know what I will charge, and it sits sensibly among competitors' prices.
- ☐ I have a rough cost to acquire a customer.
- ☐ A customer is worth more than it costs to acquire them.
- ☐ I have estimated the market size bottom-up (see how to estimate market size).
Pass if: the numbers work on a spreadsheet with conservative assumptions.
6. A commitment test
- ☐ At least a few people pre-ordered, paid a deposit, signed a letter of intent or joined a waitlist and replied to follow-up.
- ☐ I asked for money or time, not just opinions.
Pass if: someone committed something. Compliments are not validation; a credit card or a calendar invite is.
7. You
- ☐ I can build or deliver a first version with the skills and money I have.
- ☐ I would still want to work on this problem in three years.
- ☐ I know which result in the next ninety days would make me stop.
Reading your results
| Result | What to do |
|---|---|
| All sections pass | Build the smallest version that delivers the core result, and sell it. |
| Problem and customer pass, competition fails | Narrow the customer until the incumbents serve them badly. |
| Demand or economics fail | Change the price, the customer or the channel before building. |
| Problem or customer fail | Stop. Go back to customer conversations with a different problem. |
For the reasoning behind each step, read how to validate a startup idea, and for the questions that decide viability, see how to know if a business idea is viable.