Phase 2: Validation
Where ego goes to die
This stage hurts.
You start talking to real people instead of your own reflection.
Some don't care.
Some already have a workaround.
Some tell you your idea is interesting... which is founder-speak for polite rejection.
In my early attempts, I skipped this phase entirely. I built first, asked later, and paid for it with months of wasted development.
What validation actually is
Validation isn't about proving your idea is right. It's about discovering how wrong it is — early enough to fix it.
You're looking for evidence that:
- People acknowledge the problem exists
- They're currently spending time/money to solve it
- They'd actually switch to a better solution
- They'd be willing to pay
How to do it?
Talk to at least 20 potential users. Not to sell them. Not to pitch. To listen.
Ask them:
- How do you currently solve this problem?
- What's broken about your current approach?
- Have you looked for alternatives?
- Why haven't you switched?
Listen for the gap between what they say they want and what they actually need. That gap is where insights hide.
The hard part
The hardest part is accepting negative feedback without immediately defending your idea.
When someone says "that won't work for me", your instinct is to explain why they're wrong or how they could make it work. Resist that.
Instead, ask:
- Why won't it work?
- What would need to be true for you to use it?
- How important is this problem to you vs. other problems?
What you're really learning
Validation teaches you that most ideas need modification.
Not rejection — modification.
Maybe it's not for your original target market. Maybe the problem is smaller than you thought, but more acute for a sub-segment. Maybe the solution is different than you imagined but the core insight is right.
All of that is gold. It means you're getting closer.
When you're done
You're ready to move forward when you've found at least a small group of people who:
- Have the problem you identified
- Are actively frustrated by current solutions
- Express genuine interest in an alternative
You don't need everyone. You just need to find your first believers.