Idea Validation

Lean Validation

Apply the Build-Measure-Learn loop to validate ideas with minimal effort.

Smoke Test

A 1-day test to check if the core idea has any pulse before deeper validation.

Pretotyping

Build a fake front-end to test if people would use the real thing — before building the real thing.

Fake Door Test

Put a button or link for a non-existent feature and measure how many people try to use it.

Wizard of Oz Test

Users interact with what looks like a fully automated product, but a human does the work behind the curtain.

TAM / SAM / SOM

Calculate Total, Serviceable, and Serviceable-Obtainable market sizes to know if the opportunity is big enough.

Search Trend Analysis

Use search volume and trend data to quantify how many people are actively looking for a solution.

Customer Segmentation

Divide the market into distinct groups with different needs, budgets, and behaviors to find your best-fit segment.

Demand Validation

Confirm that people will actually pay or switch — not just say they are interested.

Market Sizing

Combine top-down and bottom-up approaches to triangulate a credible market size estimate.

Feature Matrix

Build a feature-by-competitor grid to see what everyone has, what is missing, and where you can differentiate.

Positioning Map

Plot competitors on two axes that matter to customers to find open positioning space.

Moat Analysis

Identify what would make your product hard to copy — or admit you have no moat and plan accordingly.

Competitor Teardown

Deep-dive one competitor: sign up, use it for a week, read their code/docs, and understand their strategy.

Pricing Benchmark

Map competitor pricing to understand the market's price range, packaging, and willingness to pay.

Problem Statement

Write a crisp, testable problem statement that names the who, the pain, and the frequency.

Jobs To Be Done

Frame the problem as a 'job' the user is hiring a product to do, revealing true motivation.

Pain Point Ranking

Rank the pains you discovered by severity, frequency, and budget to find the one worth solving first.

Solution Mapping

Map multiple candidate solutions against the ranked pains to find the best fit, not just the first idea.

Fit Scoring

Score how well your proposed solution fits the problem on 5 dimensions to get an honest go/no-go signal.

MVP Scope

Define exactly what is in and out of the MVP — the smallest thing that tests your core hypothesis.

Feature Prioritization

Rank features by impact on the core hypothesis and effort, using a framework like RICE or MoSCoW.

MVP Checklist

A pre-launch checklist to confirm the MVP is actually testable and not missing critical pieces.

Cut Criteria

Define in advance what results would make you kill the idea — pre-commitment to prevent sunk-cost escalation.

MVP Metrics

Choose the 3-5 metrics that actually test your hypothesis — and ignore the rest.

Interview Script

Write a script that asks about past behavior, not future opinions — to get honest signal.

Five Users Method

Interview 5 users in the same segment — enough to find patterns, few enough to stay fast.

Listening for Surprises

Actively listen for statements that contradict your beliefs — they are the highest-signal moments in an interview.

Synthesizing Insights

Turn 5 interview transcripts into 3-5 actionable insights that drive product decisions.