Talk to five people before you build anything

There’s a particular kind of tired that I see in people who have been “working on” a business idea for a long time. They’ve done the courses, read the books, asked ChatGPT to write their positioning statement more times than they’d like to admit. They have a folder full of notes, and they’re no closer to knowing whether anyone will pay for the thing.

I recognise it because I was there. Before I started my business, I researched yet another free guide hoping it would give me the answer, when the answer was sitting with people I hadn’t spoken to yet.

Research feels productive, and it’s safe. Nobody can say no to a document. A conversation with a potential client, on the other hand, can go any direction, and that uncertainty is exactly what makes it useful.

When I work with clients on validation, we start small. Five conversations with people who might plausibly need what you’re thinking of offering. You don’t pitch, and you don’t ask whether they’d buy it, because people are kind and will tell you yes. You ask about the problem instead: when did it last come up, what did they try, what did it cost them, what would have helped.

After five of those, something shifts. You hear the words people actually use to describe their problem, which are rarely the words on your draft website. You notice which part of your idea makes them lean forward and which part gets a polite nod. Sometimes you discover the idea needs to change, and that’s a good outcome too, because you found out in a week instead of after a year of building.

Experienced people are often uncomfortable with this stage, because it means being a beginner again in front of others. Yet the people who are willing to have slightly awkward conversations early on tend to be the ones who are selling a few months later.

A short list of names, a few honest questions and a place to write down what you hear is usually enough to start.