Stress-test the idea before you spend the money.
Founder-written guides on running pre-mortems, killing weak assumptions and finding the part of your idea most likely to fail first.
Every guide here exists to answer one of five questions before you commit time, money or reputation to an unproven idea:
- Does a real problem exist, or only a plausible-sounding one?
- Will people actually pay, rather than say they would?
- Do the economics work once acquisition and delivery are priced in?
- What could prevent adoption even if the product is good?
- What evidence should make you continue, change direction or stop altogether?
Not sure where to start?
- I only have an ideaFollow the complete validation framework
- I am about to spend moneyUse the pre-spend checklist
- I am about to place an inventory or manufacturing orderValidate the product before buying inventory
- People say they like it, but nobody has paidTest whether people will pay
- I have already used ChatGPTSee what an AI conversation misses
- I want to find what could kill itRun a free Failure Forecast
Start here
The comprehensive framework. Work through it end to end if you are starting from an idea and nothing else.
How to Validate a Business Idea: 7 Tests That Reveal Real Demand
Seven tests that move an idea from opinion to evidence, in the order they are worth running.
Before you commit money
The practical checklist for anyone about to buy inventory, run ads, hire a developer, build a course or sign a lease.
How to Test a Business Idea Before Spending Money
A pre-spend checklist for inventory, ads, developers, courses, leases and other commitments you cannot easily reverse.
Products, inventory and ecommerce
For anyone about to commit cash to physical stock: how to test price, demand, channel and contribution margin before a supplier deposit or a manufacturer minimum order locks the money in.
How to Validate a Product Before Buying Inventory
Price tests, the demand evidence ladder, contribution margin before the MOQ and kill criteria to set before the supplier deposit.
Prove demand
How to separate compliments, signups and encouragement from evidence that somebody will actually pay.
How to Know If People Will Pay for Your Business Idea
The commitment ladder, the buyer-versus-user trap and what to say when you ask somebody for money.
Choose the right validation method
Asking an AI for feedback, running a generic idea validator and running a structured business pre-mortem are three different things. These guides explain what each one can and cannot tell you.
Can ChatGPT Validate a Business Idea? What It Misses Before You Build
What a general-purpose AI conversation can tell you about an idea, and the structured risk work it skips.
Idea Validators vs Business Pre-Mortems: Why Depth Matters Before You Build
Why a score out of ten is not a decision, and what a pre-mortem adds on top of a validator.