Marcus Startup Advisor · Advisory framework
Ask about the last real event
“Would you use this?” invites a prediction. Ask what happened the last time the problem occurred instead. What did the person do, who was involved, and what did it cost? Recent concrete behaviour gives you something to investigate beyond an encouraging answer.
Observe the alternative
Your competition may be a spreadsheet, a colleague, a manual workaround, or doing nothing. Understand why the current alternative survives. A frustrating workflow may still be cheaper to tolerate than to replace. The decision is whether the proposed benefit exceeds the effort and risk of switching.
Test a specific commitment
Move from a general conversation to a bounded offer. A paid pilot, a scheduled implementation with an accountable buyer, or another costly commitment can strengthen the evidence. A nonbinding expression of interest remains conditional. Record the conditions rather than treating all positive responses as equivalent.
Interpret refusals carefully
A refusal may reflect the wrong customer, the wrong timing, an unclear offer, or a problem that does not matter enough. Do not assume you know which. Compare the reasons and design the next test around the remaining uncertainty. Avoid using a small exploratory sample to claim market-wide demand.
Use a decision gate
Before the experiment, define the segment, commitment, threshold, and cost limit. Proceed when the evidence supports the next bounded step. Iterate when the problem is credible but the offer is weak. Stop when repeated evidence undermines the hypothesis. When the evidence is missing or conflicting, say so explicitly.
Your next decision
Write down the proposed commitment, evidence, assumptions, and the smallest next proof. Choose a threshold before running the experiment.