Find & validate your idea

Find a problem worth solving, then prove people want it before you build.

What founders use for find & validate your idea, ranked by how many answers lean on it.

  1. Spotting a trend is easy, understanding why it is happening takes more than one lens, and this is Farnam Street's hub on... Farnam Street (fs.blog) Article · 30 min read Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions Shane Parrish
  2. Trend spotting improves fast when you publish what you are noticing, because the network corrects you and feeds you better... swyx.io Essay · 12 min read Learn in Public Shawn (swyx) Wang
  3. Evans is a working example of the habit you are trying to build: a weekly pass over the noise that pulls out what actually... ben-evans.com Article · Weekly newsletter Benedict's Newsletter Benedict Evans
  4. Each year a16z partners publish the shifts they expect, and reading it shows you what a finished trend thesis looks like when... Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Article · 20 min read Big Ideas in Tech 2026 a16z partners
  5. This is a compact, four step framework for turning fuzzy early signals into something you can act on, aimed at operators rather... Fast Company Article · 8 min read A four-step framework to spot weak signals of disruption Fast Company
  6. The short answer asks you to notice the same signal from three unrelated directions, and this essay is about exactly that... nabeelqu.co Essay · 15 min read How to Understand Things Nabeel S. Qureshi

The questions

Finding & shaping ideas 18

Find a problem worth years of your life.

I want to start a startup but I don't have an idea. Where do I even begin? 19 → How do I come up with startup ideas that aren't just 'Uber for X'? 19 → Should I solve a problem I personally have, or chase a bigger market? 19 → How do I know if my idea is a real problem or just a 'nice to have'? 19 → I have too many ideas. How do I pick which one to actually work on? 19 → All 18 questions in Finding & shaping ideas →
Validating your idea 21

Get evidence before you write code.

What does 'validating an idea' actually mean? 20 → How do I know if my idea is any good? 18 → How do I validate an idea without building anything? 18 → How do I talk to customers without getting false positives? 19 → How many people should I talk to, and how do I find them? 17 → All 21 questions in Validating your idea →
Market size & timing 18

Is it big enough, and why now?

How big does my market need to be for this to be a real business? 19 → What are TAM, SAM, and SOM and how do I actually calculate them? 18 → Why does 'why now?' matter so much for a startup idea? 17 → My market is small right now but growing fast. Is that a problem? 16 → How do I size a market for India specifically when data is messy? 19 → All 18 questions in Market size & timing →
Founder-market fit 17

Why you, and why this problem?

What is founder-market fit and how do I know if I have it? 18 → Do I need to be an expert in an industry to start a company in it? 19 → I'm passionate about an idea but have zero background in it. Should I still do it? 19 → How much does 'why you?' actually matter to investors and to success? 19 → As a woman founder, or one building outside the big startup hubs, how do I turn my background into an edge? 19 → All 17 questions in Founder-market fit →
Spotting trends & opportunities 18

Live in the future and build what's missing.

How do I spot trends early enough to build a startup on them? 20 → How do I tell the difference between a real trend and a passing fad? 20 → Everyone says the next big thing looks like a toy. What does that actually mean? 16 → Where do I look to find emerging opportunities before they're obvious? 19 → What are the biggest emerging opportunities in India right now? 18 → All 18 questions in Spotting trends & opportunities →
eChai Partner Brands The partnership →