Essay
Problem Validation: Making Sure You're Talking to the Right People
Arvid Kahl · Arvid Kahl, The Bootstrapped Founder Free Intermediate
Kahl argues that half of good customer discovery is ignoring the wrong people, and he is explicit that supportive friends and family fall into that category because they lack real skin in the game. He also reinforces the problem first framing from your short answer, warning founders to validate the problem, not their own idea of the solution.
- Prioritize people with genuine skin in the game over people who are simply willing to talk
- You are validating a problem, not whether someone likes your specific solution
- Ask why someone proposes an idea to uncover the underlying problem behind it
