You probably won't like this advice. The first thing any person who has a business idea wants to do is to execute it or start writing code, but this is not the best option to spend your time on. A lot of people are wasting money and time on things that no one wants, and that will ruin their lives in the process.

This is what happens when you don't check your guesses and thoughts first.

Testing your idea

Going out and discussing your idea with strangers is bold. No one will like it if they are told that without tears you cannot look at their idea. But it is better to find out about it now than a year after the start. Validation will mean that you can quickly and carefully examine your ideas to select the best one, and then move on to implementing it, already in the process without worrying about whether there is a market for it or not.

Problem check

Most likely, you thought about the idea, but not the problem. This is fine, but now that you have an idea, you need to decide on the problem that your product is supposed to solve. A simple example. People need top-quality furniture. Brayden Studio solves this problem by offering an exceptional range of home furnishings. If you thought about it and came to the conclusion that, in general, your new concept does not solve anything, then perhaps it will not work.

Think flying cars. It's cool, but it still doesn't solve the problem. We will still need some kind of road infrastructure, and until all the cars start flying, traffic jams will not disappear.

Now, of course, there are quite successful startups that do not solve any problems. Pinterest is my favorite example - a pure consumption site that no one needs, but it has an insane cost. If you can make another Pinterest, that's great, but don't get your hopes up.

The test itself is not the problem: all you need is to talk to people. Find people who are socially similar to you and find out if they ever had such a problem. If they respond with “Well, sort of,” then keep sniffing around. But if they say, “Yes, exactly, I face it every day,” then you may be on the right track. If people respond, “Yes, of course, this is a daily problem, I will pay you right now to solve it,” then you have found a promising idea.

Solution verification

Now you need to make sure that you choose the best way to solve the problem. While working on a product, it may turn out that some features are not needed, and those that you never thought about could be crucial.

An example of your train of thought is that you have found that tea drinkers have trouble figuring out how long it takes for tea to brew. These people hate strongly brewed tea, but at the same time they want it to have a full taste. Your possible solutions:

1. A special mug that extracts tea from itself as it is ready;

2. Mobile application, which contains timers for each type of tea;

3. A mug, on both sides of which the tea brewing time is indicated;

4. Something that can be attached to a tea bag and it will show that the tea has been brewed.

You may have thought of the second option, but people don't want to use their phones too much. Instead of dismissing all options, think about other ways to solve the same problem and evaluate how they respond to them. Tea lovers can kill for a mug that automatically removes the tea bag from the tea when it's brewed.

You will know that you have the right solution when people:

- Are ready to pay immediately;

- Subscribe to the newsletter;

- Tell their friends about you.

But remember!

It's very easy to get a fake “yes” answer to your questions. If you are inattentive, people will sincerely lie to you, because they will think that this is what you want to hear.

Here's how to avoid it:

Don't discuss the idea with friends. At least with those who are not close enough to you to say that your idea is crap. I only have a couple of true close friends who are completely honest with me. With the rest of the people I know, I try not to discuss anything business related.

Don't say it's your idea. When I do user surveys, I say I'm doing coursework and helping a local startup, then I scold my product to show users I get it. If they knew it was my own product, then they would hate to tell me that my product is bad.

- Don't ask leading questions. You need to be extremely careful in how you structure your questions. If you're asking, "How cool do you think this idea is?" then that's not entirely correct. It would be just as ridiculous to ask "What's wrong here?" Because in this case, people will say, “Is there something wrong? Yes, indeed – that’s what I didn’t like.” You need to build sentences as neutrally as possible, this is easier to do with a survey than by asking a person directly. For example: "Please select an answer on this scale where 1 is 'very bad' and 5 is 'very good'."

Make a working prototype

When you understand that you have a solution for an existing problem, then you can start. But the quick idea test rule still applies. Don't stop doing these checks during product development, otherwise you might run into a problem that comes from not having them.

Product with minimal functionality

Instead, you need to start getting user feedback as soon as possible. This means creating a beta version of what you've been pitching to people. This is called MVP, a product with minimal functionality, and there are many different definitions of this phrase, but I like this: MVPis the very first version of your product that you can show people and then leave them alone with it without fear that users may not like your product

This does not mean that you can release a still crude product, but do not produce it only when it’s perfect. So get to the point where you can show the MVP to people as quickly as possible. If you've ever thought, "Well, I could give this to people, but I'd rather wait until I've finished this, and that, and that..." then just let users try your product now. They can suggest that something will be superfluous, and thus you will save a lot of time.

Keep evaluating

Thought you were done with direct interviews after the first round of reviews? No, it never ends. Each version of the product deserves regular review and user feedback. Therefore, make a list of people who want to try out the prototype and find weaknesses in it.

You can even do this before you leave the user alone with the product. Take an early version of a product that is difficult to use without your help and show it to people, see what they like and don't like, what they would add. This way you can discover things you yourself never thought of and that will help you get closer to the final release.

Now you're on your own

If you have reached this point, then you are doing something that people like, and you are on the way to the ideal. You will need a few crazy assistants to help you make money, but all this is secondary to the solid foundation that you have at the beginning. You will be head and shoulders above people who dream of starting their own business.