How and Where do you validate an Idea?
I have an idea that i want to validate and i am curious how others are approaching it. How do you validate an Idea? Do you just ask around to people or build a landing page and look for subscribers? What metrics do you measure before turning an idea into an app?
I wanted to validate an idea that I thought would be useful for college students. I walked around on the college campus one day and stopped students saying to them “Hey, I’m doing some research and wanted to know if I could ask you a few questions. It wont be more than 5 minutes of your time.” It helped to target the people who weren’t in a rush so they were happy to answer my questions. You can probably do this anywhere your target customers hang out. If it’s B2B go to a seminar or conference and try to catch people when they are waiting around for something to start or just seem approachable. Another great place is at the airport (this can only work if you are flying too) where people are generally bored and waiting around. If it’s b2c, try to go to where your target customer hangs out - at public parks, malls, in the bleachers at sports games, waiting for a bus or subway etc.
If you need your product badly and no alternative exists then you can assume there would be others too who would need it badly.
I struggle with the same issue. And, as a developer, I often fall into the comfortable trap of spending a lot of time building what I consider to be a bare-bones prototype before asking people if it's even something they would have wanted. I do this because I'm much more comfortable writing code alone than I am getting feedback (which might be difficult to hear) on something that I thought was a great idea. Don't do what I do.
Instead, spend time with people and ask them questions about your idea. Run with that feedback, and build a little bit (maybe just mockups and wireframes), then go back out and talk with people. Iterate on that several times before really diving in to build up your idea, and you'll have much more confidence that you're building something that people actually want.
Regarding how to have these validation and feedback conversations with people, I recommend a recent IH podcast which was focused on sales:
https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/119-steli-efti-of-close
Sure, it was about "sales," but I gleaned a lot of insight on how to have product validation conversations with potential customers.
Thanks a lot for your insights. How do you measure the feedback? If you post on reddit, a lot of people just upvote it or ignore it only a few handful will comment back. Do you validate on upvotes? What are the platforms to test and validate an idea?
I will admit that my experience in this area is limited. I'm still learning (aren't we all?).
While I believe feedback from comments or upvotes might be of some use, I would advocate that there is no substitute for sitting down face-to-face with somebody and having them answer a few questions or provide some reactions when they look at your screenshots or mockups. You can learn a lot from watching a person's immediate reactions and facial expressions and body language. And you can follow up with questions like, "So I saw that after you clicked that button, you looked a little bit confused about what happened next. If I sensed that correctly, can you fill me in on what you were expecting at the time, or what confused you?" This is super-helpful feedback that you wouldn't normally get from online, remote and anonymous users.
So, regarding your question, "What are the platforms to test and validate an idea?" - I am currently learning and trying to put into practice the following: online platforms and tools can be useful, but there is huge value in sitting down in a coffee shop (or anywhere else where your potential customers may gather) and just asking the person sitting nearby, "Hi, I've got this idea that I just wanted some feedback on. Would you be willing to take a look at something I'm working on and let me know what you think? It will only take 10 minutes, and I'd be happy to buy you a cup of coffee for your time." This type of approach is not a comfortable one (at first), but I think the feedback that it garners is more valuable by far.
Agree, it's a learning process for us all and there's no specific answer to it. Different people have different approaches. I want to see the perspective and approaches. I agree that one-on-one is the best possible way to get feedback.
I'd rather not promote my own product but what you're looking for is exactly what I'm offering with my course http://nocodemvp.com :)
You're asking relevant questions but they can't be answered in a forum reply ;)
Hey @bramk thanks for the reply. i'd sure checkout nocodemvp :)
Ideally it is solving your problem.
Then you will know where to look for similar people. If possible look on forums for people having the problem and do cold outreach.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT4Ig2uqjTc is a great talk about how to talk to them.
If that doesn't work you can do the landing page -> run ads trick
I mean like initially, what is your approach? you tell people the idea and ask them if you should build it? or just tell them that about the problem and give them your solution and ask them to give feedback on solution itself?
I’d recommend reading The Mom Test for ways to approach validation questions / interviews. Never tell people your idea and ask them if you should build it - they’re going to lie to you. You need to find out more about the problem they’re having and what they’re already doing to solve it.
Thanks for reply @pauldmet . Heard a lot about the book, will definitely give it a read.
Ideally just talk about their problem.
At the start you should have a problem space you're looking at but not really a solution.
Their insights might show you something you never thought of that could be 10x your current solution.