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Business Idea Validator

Find out whether customers have the problem, whether it hurts enough to pay for, what must be true for the idea to work, whether it is, and whether the numbers add up. Five stages, three of them places to stop, ending with break-even and a full report.

Take the 10-minute guided tour Start at stage 1

The tour runs all five stages on an example idea: fresh-produce delivery to restaurants in Accra. Nothing in it touches your own work. Allow five to eight weeks in all: most of it goes on conversations and the test, not on the tools.

Example report (PDF)

Five stages, in order

Each stage asks one question and hands its answer to the next. You can stop after any stage: save your progress file, and pick up later on any computer. The idea validation playbook explains the method behind each one.

  1. Stage 1 of 5 · Voice of the Customer

    What do customers actually say?

    2 to 3 weeks

    You bring
    15 to 20 conversations with people you hope will pay, about the last time the problem came up, not about your idea.
    You get
    Their needs in their own words, with what they already did about the problem marked.

    How Voice of the Customer worksUse the Voice of the Customer tool on its own

  2. Stage 2 of 5 · Jobs to Be Done

    Does the problem hurt enough?

    3 to 5 days

    You bring
    The notes from stage 1, read again for what customers are trying to get done.
    You get
    The problem as customers put it, and a count of who already spends time or money working around it. Nobody in real pain? Stop here.

    How Jobs to Be Done worksUse the Jobs to Be Done tool on its own

  3. Stage 3 of 5 · Lean Canvas

    What must be true for the idea to work?

    1 to 2 days

    You bring
    Your idea, box by box on one page: customers, problem, solution, price, costs and channels.
    You get
    The assumption that would sink the idea if it were wrong, named.

    How the Lean Canvas worksUse the Lean Canvas tool on its own

  4. Stage 4 of 5 · Riskiest assumption test

    Is the riskiest assumption true?

    2 to 4 weeks

    You bring
    A cheap test, such as a pre-sale or a service run by hand, with a pass mark set before you start.
    You get
    A result judged against the pass mark, and the price and cost the test revealed. Failed? Change the idea, or stop.

    Use the riskiest assumption test on its own

  5. Stage 5 of 5 · Break-even analysis

    Do the numbers work?

    1 to 2 days

    You bring
    Your fixed costs from quotes and bills, and one or two ways of running the business.
    You get
    The customers needed to break even, and when the money comes back. More than exist? Rework the idea, or stop.

    How break-even analysis worksUse the break-even tool on its own

What you finish with

Page 1 of the example report: the five stages at a glance A stage diagnosis: does the problem hurt enough Break-even for two ways of running the business

From the guided tour: a founder in Accra testing fresh-produce delivery to small restaurants.

Download the example report (PDF, 9 pages)

A PDF report of the whole playbook. One headline for each stage, as in the example, then each stage's diagnosis: what it found, what that means, and what to do next. It ends with break-even for each way of running the business.

A progress file you keep. An Excel workbook with a sheet for every stage, updated each time you save. It is also how you come back: choose it on this page or on any stage, and the playbook reopens where you left off.

Places to stop. Three stages are built to stop you early: no real pain, a failed test, or more customers needed than exist. Stopping there costs far less than finding out after launch.

Questions

Is it free?

Yes. There is no sign-up. The PDF report asks for an email address; everything else works without one.

Where do my notes go?

Your idea, notes and numbers stay in your browser and in the progress file you download. To write each stage's diagnosis, the page sends our server only counts, ratings and the places of items in your lists, never your words.

Do I have to do all five stages?

No. Each stage also works on its own, from the tools page. In order, though, each stage tests what the last one found, and three of them tell you plainly when to stop.

Can several people work on it?

Yes, by passing the progress file. Save it after a stage, send it to a colleague, and they choose it on this page to carry on from there.

How is this different from the playbook article?

The article explains the method and follows one founder through it. The tool runs the same five stages on your own idea, and writes the diagnosis at each one.