My Top 5 Favorite Business Validation Stories
I will start this post a little bit silly. Maybe it’s because it’s late at night and I’m kind of overworked, but I’d like to say this.
Being an entrepreneur is like being an artist.
The same way a musician creates an album, an entrepreneur creates a business.
It’s maybe the reason why the journey is so interesting to me, because I discovered how much creativity is actually involved.
I see it especially in testing business ideas.
It’s about being smart, understanding the situation you’re in, and finding a way to get the most out of what you have.
These 5 stories can show you that you don't need a lot of money, a big team, or a perfect product.
There is always a possibility of finding a creative way to see if people want what you're thinking about building.
And that’s what business is about. Find what people want.
It amazes me how these founders were able to create something from almost nothing.
It’s a source of motivation, but these stories also provide a guide on how to validate your business idea.
Zappos
Will people buy shoes online?
Instead of buying thousands of pairs of shoes and renting a warehouse, Nick Swinmurn visited local shoe stores, took photos of their shoes, and uploaded them to a simple website.
When someone placed an order, he went back to the store, bought the shoes himself, and shipped them to the customer.
DoorDash
Will people pay for restaurant delivery?
The founders created a basic website with PDF menus from eight local restaurants. There was no system, and no delivery network. Just one phone number.
About 45 minutes after launching, someone placed the first order. The founders answered the phone, picked up the food themselves, and delivered it. Before building any software, they proved that customers wanted the service.
Airbnb
Are people willing to stay in someone else's home?
Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia were struggling to pay their rent. At the same time, a big conference was happening in San Francisco, and many hotels were fully booked.
They saw an opportunity. They bought three air mattresses, created a simple website, and offered people attending the conference a place to stay in their apartment.
Three people booked, which showed that strangers were willing to pay to stay in someone else’s home.
Pebble
Would people pay for a product before it even exists?
Building a smartwatch is expensive. So, instead of manufacturing thousands of devices, Pebble launched a Kickstarter campaign. Their goal was to raise $100,000. They raised more than $10 million. Before manufacturing the product, they already had thousands of paying customers.
The strongest validation isn’t compliments. It’s payment.
Buffer
Would people actually pay for a premium plan?
Joel Gascoigne wanted to build a social media scheduling tool. Instead of building it, he created a landing page. The page explained the product and included pricing plans. When people clicked on a paid plan, they discovered that the product didn’t exist yet. They could only join the waiting list.
Joel wasn’t only measuring sign-ups. He was measuring whether people were interested enough to click on a paid plan. That simple landing page gave him the confidence to build Buffer.
Let me share the story behind Think Before You Build
My name is Jan, and if you ask me what I really expect from my work life?
I’m at my best when I feel free, but at the same time, I like to be busy working on things that are creative, challenging, and require consistent step by step solutions.
And I believe entrepreneurship offers this freedom and a sense of purpose, but it requires a huge amount of work.
Am I able to work that hard? I’m trying.
Let me step back a little bit.
I moved from Europe to Canada to learn English for one year, but then I met one super cool girl. I wanted to stay with her.
Fortunately, my workplace sponsored my work permit. But suddenly, the restaurant got slower, and I was working only 20 hours per week. I couldn't legally work anywhere else.
That's the opposite of freedom, right?
I seriously thought about going back to Europe, but I really liked the super cool girl.
I didn't want to give up, so I made the decision to stay, live humbly, and try to build my own business.
In the beginning, I jumped from one business idea to another. Nothing worked at all. I felt so disappointed.
It took me almost two years to understand that I was just creating noise because I never asked potential customers if they actually needed what I was building.
Then I decided to actually test my idea with 50 potential customers.
I felt like I had discovered a miracle. The answers were so helpful, and I got 6 email leads. Before that, I had never gotten any leads at all.
I didn't even have a product or a website, but I took the right approach and reached the right people.
They told me they actually experienced the problem and also explained how they were solving it at that time.
My first test is something I'll never forget, so I also prepared a free PDF guide explaining how I did it. Because anybody can do this.
You can download it below.
Speak soon,
Jan
Comments