Validating your idea is not customer discovery
“We’ve validated the idea.” I hear that sentence from founders more than almost any other, and it usually comes with evidence. Thirty people loved it. Two hundred joined the waitlist. In a survey, 80% said they would use it, and a mentor called it a great idea. It sounds like progress. Most of the time, […] The post Validating your idea is not customer discovery appeared first on EU-Startups .
"Validating your idea" is a common phrase among startup founders. However, merely gathering opinions about a product that hasn't been built yet doesn't constitute customer discovery. In fact, 42% of founders in a study by CB Insights admitted they built something nobody wanted. To avoid this common pitfall, founders must stop focusing on opinions and start seeking real evidence of a problem.
People are often willing to say "yes" to ideas, even if those ideas don't exist yet. This is due to a phenomenon known as confirmation bias, where individuals look for information that confirms their existing beliefs. Founders often ask leading questions, which further encourages yes responses. For instance, asking "Wouldn't it be useful if this happened automatically?" rarely elicits a no answer.
The key to finding valuable insights is to focus on past problems rather than predicting future behavior. Ask about the last time a particular issue occurred, what was done to address it, and what the cost was in terms of time, money, or resources. If the person can't recall a specific instance or if they didn't take any action, the problem may not be severe enough to warrant a solution.
When defining your target customer, focus on their behavior rather than demographics. For example, rather than targeting "small business owners," look for people who send at least five invoices a month and chase late payments themselves. This approach ensures you're targeting the right people who have a vested interest in your solution.
During customer discovery, keep in mind that people often create workarounds for their problems. If multiple individuals have independently developed similar solutions, it's a strong indicator that there is a market need. Lastly, set clear criteria for when to stop exploring a particular problem. If the problem is real, painful, frequent, and already costing people, persevere and build a minimal version of your solution to test if it helps.
If the problem isn't as significant as initially thought or if it belongs to a different customer segment, pivot your strategy accordingly.
Written by urgent.news from EU-Startups's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
