The Simple Steps to Idea Validation
Written By:
Austin Stofer
Validating an idea is a crucial step that every entrepreneur must take before pouring capital into a product that no one needs. Even worse, time spent on a bad idea is time that you never get back. Don’t jump the gun on greatness, and ensure that you take a calculated route to success by following these three steps.
This may seem obvious, but without sharing your idea with friends, family, and acquaintances in your community, you are missing out on a huge resource for fast and honest feedback.
You are probably thinking, “If I share my idea with others, they'll just steal it!” Well, the difference between you and the idea thieves of the world is your passion. No one can match that. Your internal motivation will ensure that you will see your idea through completion. So, by asking for feedback, you get the opportunity to not only test your idea but further refine it.
Idea validation and competitive analysis tools are growing in popularity. Companies such as WooRank, Alexa, and SimilarWeb all provide important insight into your potential competitors and indicate the likelihood that there is market space for your idea.
Although this may seem like a no-brainer (most entrepreneurs are experts at using resources to their advantage), newcomers and ego-driven entrepreneurs can sometimes shoot themselves in the foot by being too narrowly focused.
If you have a solution to a problem, let people know and get a product in their hands. Pre-sales are valuable in more ways than one. They allow for refinement of marketing techniques and customer acquisition strategies, but also show traction in a potential market. Investors love to see that a product is already being purchased before it's fully created, and it brings revenue into a pre-launch company.
Oh, and remember the tools mentioned earlier? There are more, such as QuickMVP, that actually help you “set up a landing page, send ad traffic to it, and quickly validate your idea before you spend any more time and money on it!” It only takes 5 minutes.
