How to validate your startup idea

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Imagine sinking months of your life and thousands of dollars into building your dream startup, only to launch and hear nothing but crickets.

It’s every founder’s worst nightmare. And sadly, it happens far too often. This is because they've skipped a step: checking if people actually want what their startup offers.

The good news is that, these days, you can quickly test and validate your idea without breaking the bank. Here's how to do it.

1. Validate by finding the pain

The graveyard of failed startups is full of solutions looking for problems.

These founders assumed, “People need a better way to do this.” But they never asked, “Do people care about this problem at all?” And above all, “is anyone willing to pay me to fix it?”

To avoid this, don’t start with a flashy solution. Start with a problem that aches so much that people are desperate for you to solve it.

We find the best problems share these three traits:

  • They are painful: It causes real frustration or difficulty.
  • They are frequent: People encounter it often.
  • They are costly: It wastes time, money, or opportunity.

The best problems are so specific you could nail it to a wall. That’s where you find real pain. Let’s compare vague problems with specific ones:

  • Vague: “Small businesses need to save time.”
  • Specific: “Small plumbing businesses spend 12 hours per week scheduling appointments by hand. This wastes thousands of dollars in billable time”

The first example is difficult to test. The second is sharp and it’s easy to see if a solution will solve the problem. If you can make the problem crystal clear, you’re already miles ahead of most founders.

If you've got a proposed solution, but no problem, you don't have a valid business yet. Keeping looking.

2. Validate by tracking down potential customers

If you want to know if your idea solves a real problem, stop guessing and start listening. That means talking to people who might actually use it.

Most founders hate this step for a few reasons:

  • It’s scary to reach out to strangers.
  • You might hear something you don’t want to (like your idea isn’t great).
  • You might think you already know what people want.
  • Or think you can wait to talk to customers after your product is ready.

But waiting is a big mistake! Your guesses about what people want are probably wrong. The longer you wait to test your idea, the harder (and more expensive) it’ll be to fix.

Your assumptions are almost certainly wrong. The longer you wait to test them, the more painful (and expensive) the truth will be.

So take the plunge and talk to your potential customers.

Aim to talk to 10–20 people who might be interested in your idea. Start with people you know (friends, family, coworkers) if they fit your audience.

Once you’ve done that, you can expand by sending short, friendly messages on LinkedIn or Reddit like this:

Hi, I’m trying to learn how [people like you] deal with [problem]. Could I ask you a few quick questions? It’ll only take 15 minutes.

Most people will say yes if you’re polite. And if no one seems interested? That might mean your idea isn’t solving a problem people care about, which is worth knowing early.

3. Validate by digging deeper into the problem

When you get that call or email back, your mission is to gather honest insights. The kind that can shape your business into something people want.

Keep the conversation short and focused. All you need is 15 to 30 minutes if you’re asking the right questions. These may include:

  • What’s your biggest challenge with [problem area]?
  • How do you currently solve this problem?
  • What’s frustrating about your current solution?
  • If a better solution existed, what would it need to do?

Notice what’s missing? You’re not asking them, “Wouldn’t you love a tool that does X?” That’s a bad question. They’ll say yes just to be polite. That kind of false validation can sink your business.

A great startup doesn’t solve for politeness or “nice-to-haves.” It solves pain that keeps people up at night wondering why no one has fixed this yet. Lets look at some examples:

  • Why did Slack explode in popularity? Because teams were drowning in email chains and clunky tools. They were desperate for a fix.
  • Why did Airbnb crush it? Because travelers were tired of choosing between overpriced hotels and sketchy couch-surfing. The pain was real, and the solution was obvious once someone paid attention.

As you talk to more people, you’ll start to see the green and red flags. If their eyes light up as they spend 10 minutes venting about how they hate their current solution, pay close attention. When they say, “I waste X hours every week trying to do Y,” you’ve hit on something big.

Even when someone gushes about a problem, you should not take their words at face value. Look for evidence in their behavior. If they say the problem wastes hours of their life but have never tried to fix it, the pain might not be worth paying for.

And if no one brings up the problem, or they shrug off the prompt, take that warning sign to heart.

4. Validate through competition

Many founders state with pride, “there’s no competition for what I’m building.” But if no one else is solving the problem, it might not be a problem worth solving.

Competition is proof that the problem exists, people care, and they’ll pay to fix it. And you can learn from your competition. So now it’s your turn to dig deeper to figure out what they do well and what they’re bad at.

Here’s some questions you can use to approach it:

  • How are they solving the problem?
  • What do their customers love?
  • What do their customers hate?
  • Where are the gaps you can fill?

Tools like G2, Capterra, and Reddit are treasure troves of customer feedback that you can use to spy on competitors. Look for recurring themes, like:

  • “The tool works, but it’s confusing.”
  • “Customer service is slow.”
  • “It’s too expensive for what it does.”

Each complaint is a hidden opportunity. For instance, if users all mention that a product is confusing, you’ve just found an edge: simplicity.

With all this in mind, if you can't find any gaps, it may be too difficult to serve that market.

5. Validate your solution to the problem

Once you’ve assessed the problem, you can make an informed and validated guess on how to solve it.

You don’t need to outperform competitors on every front. Many founders make the mistake of trying to be everything to everyone. But that leads to mediocrity.

The better path is to focus on exceptional value in one area that matters to your audience. Customers will overlook average secondary features if you excel where it counts. If you’re solving a real pain point, even a crowded market will make space for you.

A lot of founders avoid these crowded markets, thinking they can’t compete. But if you’ve validated the problem and found gaps, there’s room for your solution.

Look at Slack. Team communication tools weren’t new—email, instant messaging, and other platforms were already in play. But Slack made it easy by being simple, and the market rewarded them for it.

Your goal is the same: identify what matters most, do it better than anyone else, and let the rest fall into place.

6. Validate with basic webpage to test the idea

You don’t need a finished product to see if people want what you can offer. You don’t even need a prototype yet. All you need is a simple web page.

This is one of the most powerful ways to test demand. It’s like holding up a sign that asks, “Does anyone care about this?”

There are tools that let you whip up a page in minutes without code, like Webflow or Carrd. These are a great way to get started quickly.

To set up your landing page, break down your idea so your customer can understand in an instant. Speak straight to your audience’s pain point: what’s the problem, and how does your idea solve it? For example:

  • Problem: Scheduling appointments by hand wastes 12 hours every week.
  • Solution: Our tool automates scheduling to cut that down to minutes.

Then, you need to sell your idea based on the outcome you achieve, not the features your product has. These benefits (the pains you’re removing) are what move people to act. So rather than saying, “we offer automated scheduling,” and leaving it at that, say:

  • “Save 12 hours a week with scheduling that runs itself.”
  • “Never miss another meeting—our tool handles all the reminders for you.”

If you don’t, people might not know why they need an automatic scheduler. Don’t assume they’ll make the link – make it easy for them.

The final step of building your landing page is to test interest. And the best way to do that is by asking for a small, low-commitment action. These actions may include:

  • Join a waitlist.
  • Sign up for early access.
  • Sign up to a newsletter.

Once your landing page is live, get it in front of the right people. Don’t overthink this, if you’ve done your testing earlier , you already have a list of people you’ve contacted. If not, start where your audience already spends time. For example, find professionals on LinkedIn, or niche hobby groups on Reddit or Discord.

Your landing page is your testing ground, so pay attention to the clues it gives you. Are people curious enough to check it out? Are they taking action after reading? Are they engaging with you or asking questions?

If the answers are yes, congratulations, you’re onto something. If not, don’t panic. It might mean you need to tweak your message or adjust your call to action. Or worse, it could mean exploring a brand new audience or starting again with a brand new problem.

7. Validate with a simple prototype

The next step in validating your idea is to put something in the hands of your audience—a prototype. The prototype is a rough, stripped-down version of your product. It’s used to test assumptions, gather feedback, and figure out what actually works.

Start by zeroing in on the single feature: what’s the one thing this must do to solve the problem? For example:

  • If your app promises faster scheduling, focus only on building the scheduling feature.
  • If you’re creating a fitness tracker, begin with tracking one key metric.

Your prototype doesn’t need to look polished. It just needs to function well enough for users to interact with it. Use tools that simplify the process such as Figma (for clickable mockups and user flows), Canva (for visuals or layouts) or Bubble (a no-code way to build web apps).

You should now have a list of people interested, so reach out to them. You can hop on a Zoom call, record a short demo, or let them try it out in person. The earlier you share it, the faster you’ll uncover what’s working and what’s not.

Then you can start to ask questions while they use it:

  • “What do you think this product does?” → To test clarity.
  • “Would this solve your problem?” → To test relevance.
  • “How much would you pay for this?” → To test value.

Feedback on your prototype from even five users can be a goldmine of insights. You’ll learn what excites them, what confuses them, and what they actually want. And you'll find out if you have a valid startup on your hands.

8. Validate with commitments

You’ve talked to users, tested interest, and built a prototype. Great! But early validation can be deceiving. Friends, family, and colleagues often tell you what you want to hear. They’re supportive, but not always honest.

If you want to know if your idea truly resonates, you need feedback that cuts through the noise. How do you get that? Ask for commitments.

Commitments are the ultimate litmus test. They show people aren’t casually interested, they’re willing to act. Here are a few ways to get them:

  • 1. Run ads: Set aside a small $100 budget to test your idea with paid ads. Use Facebook or Instagram to drive traffic to your landing page. Track key metrics like signups, purchases, or preorders.

  • 2. Engage in social spaces: Share your idea in online spaces like forums, LinkedIn groups, or Slack channels and see if you can get sign-ups. If you get them, that's a huge step towards validation.

  • 3. Collect Letters of Intent (LOIs): For B2B startups, LOIs are powerful. These non-binding agreements show companies want to use your product once it’s ready.

  • 4. Ask for preorders: For consumer startups, even small $5 preorders are telling. If someone pays for something that doesn’t yet exist, it’s the ultimate validation.

When someone commits time (to test your prototype, give feedback, or sign an LOI) or money (to preorder or pay for early access), they show they care. Anything less is a sign your idea needs work or the pain isn’t big enough.

Many founders feel nervous about asking for commitments. That’s normal. It feels vulnerable because it forces you to face the truth about your idea. But if you’re too hesitant to ask, you may not be confident enough in your idea yet. Use that discomfort as a sign to guide you.

What to do with your validation tests

The most successful founders understand that validation is an ongoing process, not a single milestone. Every interaction you have—be it a user interview, a prototype test, or a landing page experiment—is an opportunity to learn.

1. If things are working

Once your idea starts gaining traction, it’s time to build on that success.

Focus on the parts of your solution people love the most and make them even better.

2. If things aren’t working

If your idea isn’t gaining traction, use your feedback to figure out what’s wrong:

  • 1. Is the problem real? If not, find a bigger one.
  • 2. Are we targeting the right people? If not, adjust your focus.
  • 3. Does the solution resonate? If not, refine your message or features.

The best founders aren’t stuck on their first idea. They stay focused on solving the main problem. That's what helps them become success stories.

Final thoughts

A great startup might start with a flash of inspiration, but it’s built through hard work: talking to people, testing your idea, and making sure there’s real demand before you go all in.

This step is what stops you from wasting time on something no one wants. So start testing now.