Article · ~15 min read

How to Validate Your Startup Idea

Todd Jackson · Lenny's Newsletter Freemium Beginner

Todd Jackson studied how dozens of now-large companies validated their very first idea. The pattern that repeats: deliver the outcome by hand, talk to real users, and watch for genuine emotion. A polite 'that's cool' is a no. Strong reactions are the signal you want.

  • Manual delivery beats a survey for early signal.
  • Look for strong emotion, not politeness.
  • Great ideas usually start from a problem you have lived.
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It answers 21 questions

  1. What does 'validating an idea' actually mean?
  2. How do I validate an idea without building anything?
  3. Should I solve a problem I personally have, or chase a bigger market?
  4. I'm passionate about an idea but have zero background in it. Should I still do it?
  5. How do I know if my idea is a real problem or just a 'nice to have'?
  6. Should I build an MVP at all, or can I validate without one?
  7. I have too many ideas. How do I pick which one to actually work on?
  8. How do I run a landing-page / 'fake-door' test?
  9. How do I know when to stop researching an idea and just start building?
  10. How do I turn a trend I've noticed into an actual product idea I can build?
  11. How do I actually validate my idea with a no-code prototype before I sink weeks into building the real thing?
  12. Should I validate an idea before I can code, or learn to build first?

And 9 more across the hub.

Read with it

  1. The single best thing ever written on customer conversations. It teaches you to ask about the customer's life and past... momtestbook.com Book · ~130 pages The Mom Test Rob Fitzpatrick
  2. The definitive essay on where good ideas come from: notice problems you personally have, don't force it. Use it as the lens for... paulgraham.com Essay · ~20 min read How to Get Startup Ideas Paul Graham
  3. Turns the vague feeling of product-market fit into a number you can move. Ask users how they would feel if they could no longer... First Round Review Article · ~20 min read How Superhuman Built an Engine to Find Product/Market Fit Rahul Vohra
  4. The permission slip to recruit users by hand, do things manually, and deliver 'insanely great' experiences to your first few... paulgraham.com Essay · ~15 min read Do Things That Don't Scale Paul Graham
  5. Video · ~50 min How to Evaluate Startup Ideas Kevin Hale, Y Combinator
  6. Video · ~25 min How to Talk to Users Eric Migicovsky
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