You explain your business idea. People say it sounds useful. A few offer suggestions. Someone asks you to send a link when it’s ready. You walk away encouraged, but you still don’t know whether to build it.
Test the assumption behind your next expense before committing to it. Find people who face the problem now, understand how they handle it and run a small trial of the improvement you want to sell.
The useful result is a decision: what to build next, which customer to focus on or which assumption needs another test. Start with the uncertainty that could make the next expense a mistake.
Find the assumption behind your next expense
Imagine you want to build a tool that helps small interior design studios collect project details from new enquiries. You believe the back-and-forth wastes their time, and you’re about to pay a developer to build a client portal.
For that to work, several things must be true: the back-and-forth happens often enough to matter; studios want to change it; someone in the studio can approve buying it; their clients will use it; and you can deliver it at a workable cost.
“Do people like my idea?” blends all of those together and answers none of them. A sharper question before commissioning the portal: “Will a studio use a structured enquiry brief on its next real project, and is the improvement worth paying for?”
Your first question might be different. If you can’t reach studios at all, access is the thing to test. If the idea depends on a technical capability you haven’t proven, test that before you offer it to anyone.
Write your next commitment at the top of a page, then finish this sentence: “Before I spend this time or money, I need better evidence that ___.”
Talk to people in the situation, including those who chose something else
A job title is a weak filter. A studio with a coordinator and a process it likes has very different needs from a solo designer answering every enquiry personally.
Start with people who recently handled a new enquiry. Ask how it went from first contact to a usable brief. Include someone who already solved the problem with a form, an assistant or an existing tool. Their current solution, even if it’s a spreadsheet or simply putting up with it, is your real competition.
Be honest about why you’re asking. It’s fine to say you’re exploring a possible product. If someone declines, record that separately from their opinion of the idea, and respect their answer.
Ask for the story before you show the solution
Questions that let people describe what actually happened:
- “Walk me through the last enquiry that became a project.”
- “Which information did you have to ask for again?”
- “What happened while you were waiting?”
- “Have you tried changing that process? How did it go?”
- “Who would decide whether to use or pay for a different approach?”
Let an unimportant problem stay unimportant. If someone says the exchange takes five minutes and works fine, don’t argue them into your diagnosis. Ask what makes it work. Rob Fitzpatrick’s The Mom Test is an excellent short guide to asking without leading.
Note the event they described, their current workaround and any cost they mention. Keep your interpretation in a separate column.
Turn the conversation into a small, honest test
Suppose a studio describes repeated delays because new clients send details in five different places. You could offer a manual trial: organise the brief for one upcoming enquiry using a simple form and a clear summary.
Explain that it’s a limited trial of the process, not finished software. Agree who does what, what information is needed, how long it runs and whether there’s a fee. Never accept a commitment that depends on something you haven’t built or proven.
Scroll across to compare every column.
| What you observe | What it tells you | What you still don’t know |
|---|---|---|
| They describe a recent, costly delay | The problem is real for this studio | Whether your approach helps, or is worth paying for |
| They agree to try it on a real enquiry | They’ll invest effort to change | Whether they’ll use it, pay or come back |
| They use it and tell you what improved | It fits one real situation | Whether it lasts, or works for other studios |
| They pay an agreed fee | They’ll pay on those terms | Repeat demand and your delivery economics |
A paid trial is useful evidence without proving a subscription product. A free trial teaches you about usage without proving anyone will pay. Match the test to the question.
Decide in advance what each result means
Once you’ve invested effort, it’s tempting to read every result as encouragement. So write a short decision note first:
“If the studio uses the brief and finds it helpful, I’ll look for another studio with the same problem. If it agrees but doesn’t use it, I’ll ask what got in the way. If their current process works well, I’ll revisit the problem or the audience before building the portal.”
Set a time and money limit you can afford, and review when you reach it. Look for evidence against your favourite explanation too. These findings can change the product, the audience or the timing. They are never a verdict on you as a founder.
Keep a one-page record
Note the assumption, who you approached, the situations they described, what you asked for, what they actually did, what surprised you and what’s still unknown. Keep attempts and outcomes apart: “contacted eight”, “spoke with three” and “one agreed to try” are three different facts.
When answers point in different directions, keep each situation separate rather than averaging opinions. In the example, I’d look for another studio with the same handover problem before adding everyone’s feature requests to a plan.
Use a decision sheet before you build
- Next expense: the development, stock or hiring commitment you are considering.
- Assumption: what must be true for that expense to make sense.
- Trial: one action a relevant buyer can take with something you can deliver now.
- Decision rule: what result would lead you to proceed, revise the offer or change the customer.
For the studio example, organise one live enquiry manually before commissioning a portal. If the studio uses the brief, values the improvement and agrees to continue on workable terms, you have a stronger basis for the next build.
Questions you may have
How many people should I talk to before building?
There’s no magic number. For a small, reversible step, a handful of good conversations plus one real trial may be enough. For an expensive or hard-to-undo commitment, gather more varied evidence first.
Should I take money before I build?
Sometimes, for a clearly described manual or limited version you can genuinely deliver. Never take money for something you can’t deliver yet.
What if everyone says they love it but nobody tries it?
That’s useful information. Ask what got in the way of trying. Compliments tell you people are polite; actions tell you what they’ll do.
Bring the uncertainty, not a pitch
Send me: “I’m thinking about ___ for ___. Before I build, I need to understand ___.” If you’ve tried something already, add what happened. The open question is enough to start.
Read next: once people are buying, find where your customers stop.
Prefer a conversation on social? Message me on LinkedIn.