Solving the “get out of the building” hurdle.
Solving the “get out of the building” hurdle.
“9 out 10 startups fail because they build products no-one wants”
Reaching your product-market fit means talking to your potential ideal end users and buying decision makers.
Easier said than done, especially for B2B.
Case scenario:
You’re thinking of building, are building or have built an accounting software which has smart features that other similar products don’t have. You’ve segmented your market and have concluded that a good place to start is the film production industry.
You need to survey accountants/finance managers in the film production industry, ideally in two or three geographical areas. For meaningful insights you need to reach at least 20 of them.
How many emails, networking sessions, calls to your networks will it take to reach those busy 20 professionals? Will they give you 30mn of their time? How many more weeks can you dedicate to this.
Is this a problem you encounter?
#idea-validation
Partially. But it all depends on how unique or original your idea is.
Many ideas are already proven by the marketplace.
I think far too many entrepreneurs are beholden to the idea of originality. If you're trying to start a $10 billion unicorn, then sure... be the first mover.
If you're an indiehacker trying to start a lifestyle business, I would say that not only is originality not as important -- it can be a warning sign at times.
If idea validation is a major pain-point for you, I would consider focusing first on feature replication and price competitiveness first -- then beat on features.
My 2 cents.
James, I love your 2 cents. Totally makes sense - So one more question, how do you define "lifestyle" in sense of revenue? would you say its an add on to existing income or enough to live on?
The answer to that probably varies from person to person -- but I would say ideally, it's just slightly more than enough to live on.
I always liked Scott Galloway's very simple definition of "wealth":
Passive monthly income that just exceeds your normal monthly spending.
(Meaning you could be 'wealthy' at $50k annually if you live for less than that. And you can be 'broke' at $1m annually if your spending exceeds that)
IMHO achieving "wealth" by that definition should be the ultimate goal of every indiehacker. (With the "passive" part being somewhat debatable, as you always have to "mind the store" so to speak).
you are a source of wisdom :) . thank you
Thank you!! : )
Every time someone comes to me about trying to validate an "idea," I force them to sit down and describe four things:
Validating your idea comes way later. You need to make sure the problem is clearly defined and real. To get the conversations, I always ask the same question: "I'm looking to learn a bit more about your life as a gardener. Specifically, I'd like to learn about some of the big challenges you run into as a gardener. Do you have 30 minutes to chat?"
That request makes the person feel like I'm genuinely interested in hearing their stories (I am) and their problems. They aren't being sold anything, it's straight up discovery on my end and story-telling on theirs. Make sure all the questions you ask pass the Mom Test. At the end of the call, ask if it's cool to stay in touch as you further explore the space. 99% of the time, they'll say yes.
Great explanation/summary - thank you Andrew -
So the stage you describe is customer discovery - How would you define idea validation?
Assuming you've got your problem identified and validated, as well as the target customer identified, it should be pretty straightforward.
"Hey there, when we last spoke you outlined a challenge you were having about XXX. I've been noodling on a solution, and would love for you to check it out. Can I grab 30 minutes to get your feedback?"
I'm going to explicitly NOT use the word idea. It's not about "my idea." It's about this potential solution to "their problem." I'll build a clickable prototype or something real quick in Bubble, write up a script that outlines a specific task I'd like the user to do in the tool, and watch them work via video. If you can do it in person, that's preferred. You get to see body language and physical frustration.
Ask them to describe what they're thinking when they move through your prototype. Ask them questions based on their comments. "Oh interesting, why did you choose to click that?" "What did you expect to happen when you did this?"
The final thing I tend to do for my own personal projects: I end the solution validation call with an ask. "I'm looking to move forward with building this, is this something you'd be interested in purchasing now at a crazy discounted rate?" If it's yes, ask why and take their sale. If it's no, ask why and thank them for their time.
again, star reply Andrew - thank you so much :)
I’ve found that 90% of professionals are willing to meet/take a 15 minute call if you position yourself as a new local business needing help. It’s not a huge challenge.
The bigger challenge for most people is getting over the fear associated with making those cold introductions and asking for help.
thanks Kyle :)