Stop Validating Your Idea and Start Selling It

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You might not know this, but Chezie actually started as a job marketplace for diverse job seekers. We did that for about a year, and though we had a little bit of success, it very clearly wasn't working, so we decided to pivot.

Instead of the job marketplace, we built this project management tool for tracking DEI initiatives. When we showed it to potential customers, the responses were... mixed. And if you're a founder, you know that mixed responses really mean "no" (because if it's not a hell yes, it's a no).

But then something interesting happened. My friend Morgan, who was running DEI at Peloton at the time, reached out:

I hadn't. Instead of just noting her feedback, I asked what she was looking for specifically. She needed a way to track ERG membership. So, I quickly built an MVP in Google Data Studio to show her what a dashboard might look like.

She loved it.

Then came the real validation moment. I asked how much they'd be willing to pay for this. To my surprise, they had a budget of $35,000 for this type of software.

THIRTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS.

For context, at that time, Chezie had never made more than $2,000. Hearing that one customer would pay us $35K was all the validation we needed. We went all-in after that.

Why Traditional Validation Doesn't Work

I get why people recommend customer interviews, surveys, and market research. But here's the problem with each:

Customer Interviews

You can ask about pain points, time spent on problems, and current solutions. People love the idea of just talking. However, the mood and energy usually shift when you actually ask them to pay for something, which you don't typically do in a customer interview.

Surveys

Surveys are great for getting a lot of data in a short amount of time, but people lie in surveys. Also, similar to customer interviews, you never actually ask someone to pay for something, so you can't get an idea of their willingness to pay.

Market Research

Reading Reddit threads and blog posts helps you understand the industry, but once again, you're not talking to actual customers about their willingness to pay.

See the theme? None of these methods tell you if someone will actually give you money for your solution. And the only way to find that out is to ask.

Selling Works for Every Business Model

You might think, "But my business isn't B2B like Chezie." Doesn't matter. Selling works for validation across all business models:

B2C

Yes, eventually, you'll need a scalable, self-serve model. But for your first 5-10 customers, get out there and sell directly.

Let's say that you were building an AI resume generator. When you're talking about getting your going from 10 to 100 customers, you'll probably want to invest in Google Ads or a referral program. But for your first 10 customers, you can ask around - ask around with your friends who are looking for jobs to see if they would be interested in the product that you've built and if they like it, how much they would pay for it.

Marketplace Businesses

Marketplaces are tough because you have to validate supply and demand, but that doesn’t mean you can’t sell.

If you're thinking about building a marketplace, I would focus on the demand side first to figure out what they are looking to pay for, and then for the supply side, identify the benefit they are most looking for from a platform since they'll be consuming your services and acting as your product to your demand side, who is your ultimate buyer.

In any case, selling is the best way to attract early customers regardless of your business model. Popular guidance will tell you to validate with landing pages and focus groups, but nothing works better and is quicker than putting a product or telling someone about the product and asking them to pay for it.

The "What If" Framework

I recently heard Todd Jackson from First Round Capital talk about this on Lenny's podcast, and I'm obsessed with what I call the "What If" framework.

Here's how it works: Find someone who would be interested in your idea, and instead of pitching your solution or telling them about how you perceive their problem, pitch the outcome.

Let’s go back to the AI Resume Generator idea:

• Bad: "What if I could give you a tool that generates resumes automatically?"

• Good: "What if I could cut your application time in half and increase your interviews by giving you tailored resumes for every job?"

As Todd mentioned, watch for this response when you pitch the outcome: "Wow, that sounds great, but I doubt you can even do that."

This is the holy grail of idea-stage validation. Now you know that what you’re envisioning is so promising that your customer thinks it’s too good to be true.

If you get that response, there’s only one question left to ask: “How much would you pay for something like this?".

Assuming they respond with a price that you think you can build a business on, all you have to do is make it real. Obviously, making it real is easier said than done, but this post is only about validating an idea. Sorry!

Validation isn't about getting people excited about your idea. It's about finding people willing to pay for your solution. Everything else is just conversation.

If you have thoughts about idea validation or want to share your experience, reply to this email! Would love to hear from you 🤝

Catch you next week,

Toby