THE STARTUP JOURNEY / 01 / Validate
Is this worth building?
Find a problem people already spend time, money, or effort trying to solve.
Evidence that counts
Repeated painful workarounds, switching behaviour, payment, and specific pilot commitments.
Signals to question
Compliments, survey enthusiasm, a large market estimate, and founder conviction.
The principal risk
Committing to a solution before understanding the problem.
Your decision gate
Can a defined customer demonstrate an urgent problem and a credible commitment to change?
The next proof
Interview recent buyers or people using a workaround. Ask about the last real occurrence, then test a specific paid offer.
Set the success criterion
Set a commitment threshold before the test. Record who commits, what they commit, and why others decline.
Do not do yet
A full product, a broad feature roadmap, and an expensive launch.
Choose the decision the evidence supports
Proceed when the gate is met. Iterate when the approach needs changing. Stop the current path when evidence undermines it. If observations are missing or conflicting, record insufficient evidence and define the next test.
Connect the decision to capital
Account for the cost of the next experiment, the time it consumes, and the commitments it creates. Product, commercial, and ownership decisions should be assessed together. Use specialist review where technical, financial, or legal judgement is required.