De-risk to validate the idea
Don’t validate idea from your own perspective, de-risk the idea by validating the information and then build an MVP.
Hi 👋, Welcome to the 54th newsletter post.
You’ll hear this advice everywhere - validate the idea before building a fully functional product. But there is this one big misconception within it which makes it counterproductive: we don’t want to validate from our perspective, we want to de-risk the idea by validating the information.
And that’s what most people miss. They start with:
The idea
Build the MVP
Market it and then get customers
Instead, they need to flip the steps.
These steps feel more like you’re trying to prove yourself right, leading to accumulate false positive inputs and a sense of validation that you are targeting the right group.
Yet, that’s also true that not every idea needs validation hence it doesn’t have to follow any procedure but it’s worth de-risking so it saves time, is easy to build & we become aware of unknown challenges.
It’s also important to de-risk the idea when you are targeting new customers and you’ll have to explain them who you are, what you do and why there is a need for you.
From the point you get the idea, it’s you who thinks everybody wants it. But when you de-risk it you’ll find out if nobody wants it or enough people want it or is it hard to reach or is it a wrong solution; unless you reach near zero risk.
Let’s see how you should validate by de-risking the idea and building a basic MVP to test and expand the product.
Start with a problem faced by a particular community
Narrow it down to create your ideal customer profile. When you’re starting something new, the customers don’t exist until there’s a market.
You see, throwing your idea up in the air for it to fall somewhere you believe your idea is very much needed isn’t enough. You might target the whole developers community but not all developers will be Python developers - that one problem you’re building the solution for.
De-risking the idea again into Python developers can lead you to decide if you need to focus on beginners or advanced or highly expert Python developers. As, the understanding and usage of the product will be completely different for all levels. Some might need it right now and some may not.
Your main goal when de-risking a customer profile will be to find the first set of customers who will be highly enthusiastic and in need of your solution. This helps you niche down to your early customers, and guesstimate whether there will eventually be enough to support a business given your goals.
Understand the pain points and create a solution they will pay for
Once you have your set of customers that perfectly fit with the idea, you’ll need to next test the problem and collect information on how they face the problem, what pain points you can list and what solution they are currently using.
What it helps do is bring you clear information. You might have thought of a way to build the solution for the initial idea but many times it can flip 180 degrees and give you concrete reasons why you should exist, what makes you better, and why your first set of customers need the solution most.
While it can be disappointing that your idea wasn’t the right destination you begin from, it will open new paths in a new direction.
To be clear on advance Python developers are the ones that are facing the challenge most. You’ll have a solution that’s customized for them. And they will be the ones who will pay to use it first. Validating that the idea is worth paying for.
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Include test items in the MVP package
Now is the time to show more, and then tell. You can observe how they use it, what makes them come back and what makes them talk about you.
All this combined in a package will build your MVP. Even if it’s not fully functional, it will shape as you keep your focus on the first set of advanced Python developers and with their feedback build a solution-customized product.
While your MVP helps you get clear with questions like why now is the best time to build, it will also help you build in a market category where you can lead. You have to be within the community to reach more customers, learn and grow faster. Mostly the right distribution channel is what you need to take the next step.
Conclusion
The honest thing is you can never de-risk to zero. You can’t eliminate all the risks and no idea is truly wasteful. It always opens up new opportunities that can plant the seeds of new ideas. You need to reach a point where the business becomes worth your efforts and profitable.
When I was building my tech product and after building the MVP I realized the biggest mistake that had been made - not validating in the right order:
Know who needs your solution most right now.
Understand their pain points and create a solution for which people will pay
Build the MVP and package it into a product.
If you try to validate the MVP once it’s built, you’ll try to find proof that your customers need the product but you haven’t validated whether the product solves the right problem for a set of customers you’re targeting.
Until next time!
Ritika
👋 PS: I’m Ritika founder, product marketer and advisor for early-stage to unicorn startups, work with me or connect with me here. If you’re a first-time founder looking for curated resources, download here. You can also promote your product in this newsletter or share your feedback or questions here.
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