Before You Start
Most of the money lost in a new business is spent before anybody has said yes
A founder who builds first and tests later can end up paying for the answer twice. This session is about the cheaper order: talk to the people who would buy, ask for something small and real, and let their answer decide how much to build. Founders a few years in describe how they tested, and what the test showed that surprised them.
Explore this page6 sections
A good idea and a paying customer are different things.
Almost everybody who describes an idea to friends and family hears that it is wonderful. It is a kindness, and it tells the founder nothing. The questions that matter are different. Does the customer already have this problem badly enough to do something about it? What do they do today? Would they pay, and how soon?
The usual mistake is not a bad idea. It is spending months and savings on the product, the shop, the website or the stock before asking any of those questions. By then every answer is expensive to act on.
This session is about the cheaper order. It is practical rather than theoretical, it does not promise that a test will tell you whether the business will work, and it does not replace a conversation with a chartered accountant or a lawyer where money or law is involved.
How to test, in roughly this order
35 topics across 7 areas. Seven steps, from writing the idea down to deciding what to do with the answer.
Say It in One LineIf it takes a paragraph, it is not yet clear.5
- Who has the problem, in terms you could recognise on the street
- What the problem costs them today, in money, time or worry
- What you would offer, and what you would not
- How they solve it at the moment, including doing nothing
- Why you, and not the existing option
The existing option is your real competitor. It is often a notebook, a phone call or a cousin.
Find Real People to AskTen people who might buy, by name.5
- Write names, not segments
- Start with people who have the problem now, not people who might one day
- Ask each for a short conversation about their problem, not your idea
- Include some who do not know you, because friends are generous
- Ask each person who else you should speak to
Ask About the Past, Not the FuturePeople are poor at predicting what they will buy and good at describing what they did.5
'Would you buy this?' invites a polite yes. 'What did you do the last time this happened?' invites a fact. Facts are what a test is for.
- When did you last face this problem?
- What did you do about it, and what did it cost?
- What was annoying about that?
- Have you paid anybody to solve it, and who?
- What would have to be true for you to change what you do?
Look for a Commitment, Not a ComplimentWhat counts as evidence.5
- An advance payment, however small
- A signed or written intent to buy, where that is normal in the trade
- A booked time for a trial, a visit or a delivery
- An introduction to another person who has the same problem
- A real objection, which usually means they took it seriously
'Very nice, let me know when it is ready' is not a commitment. It is a goodbye.
Run a Small Real TestThe cheapest version that still involves a customer and money.5
- Doing the service by hand for two or three customers before building a system
- A simple sheet or message that takes orders before there is a website
- A small first batch or a sample, sold rather than given away
- A pre-order, a deposit or a paid pilot with one customer
- A limit on time and money, agreed in advance
Decide Before You TestSo that the result cannot be argued with afterwards.5
- How many people you will approach
- How many yeses, in what form, would make you go ahead
- How many noes would make you change the idea or stop
- The date the test ends
- What you will not spend until it has ended
Read the Result HonestlyGo ahead, change it, or stop.5
- Which customers said yes, and what they have in common
- Which said no, and the reason they gave
- What was easier or harder than expected
- Whether the problem is real but your offer is wrong
- When stopping is a good result: it saved you the money
Common mistakes in testing
- Pitching to people instead of listening to them
- Asking only friends and family
- Treating enthusiasm as demand
- Testing for months with no end date
- Building the full product to see if the idea works
- Explaining away every no
What participants leave with
- A one-line statement of their own idea
- A list of ten people to speak to this month
- Five questions about the past, to use in those conversations
- A small test with a time limit and a spending limit
- A written decision rule for the result
How the session runs
One or two founders describe how they tested their own idea before building, including a test that told them something unwelcome. A short walkthrough of the steps follows, and the rest of the time goes to each participant's own idea, in a small group. Evening or weekend sessions, in person or online. Speakers describe their own experience, and nothing they say is presented as a rule that fits every business.
What your students leave with
- A one-line description of the problem, the customer and the offer
- A short list of real people to test it with, not an imagined market
- Questions that get honest answers instead of polite ones
- A clear difference between a compliment and a commitment
- A small test you can run in two to four weeks for little money
- A decision rule written before the test, so the result cannot be argued away
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
Spend a few weeks finding out before you spend a few months building.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.