Testing Your Startup Ideas 💡

👋 Hey future unicorn builders,

I know you love your startup idea. You probably dream about it. But before you drop everything to go all-in… what if it flops? 💀

Most startups don’t fail because of bad execution. They fail because nobody wanted them in the first place.

So, let’s be smart founders and validate before we build. Here’s a 6-step sanity check before you waste time, money, and your sanity.

✅ 1. The Wallet Test – Get People to Pay BEFORE You Build 💰

Ask 10 people if they’d use your product. 8 will say yes.
Ask them to prepay → Only 2 will.

The only real validation is money in the bank.

🛠 How to test

• If you have a service-based idea, get your first customers manually before building tech.

• If you’re selling a physical product, offer pre-orders before manufacturing.

• If it’s a B2B SaaS, get companies to commit before writing a single line of code.

💡 Example: Figma founder Dylan Field sold the vision of a browser-based design tool to investors before the product was even built. Once investors showed interest, he knew the demand was real.

🚀 Action Step: Go to your target customers and ask them to prepay. If they hesitate, ask them, “Why wouldn’t you buy this right now?” Their answers will expose the gaps in your idea.

✅ 2. The MVP (Minimum Viable Product) Approach – Build a Scrappy Version 🚀

Your first version doesn’t need to be sexy. It just needs to exist and be good enough to test demand.

👎 Bad MVP: Spending 6 months coding an app.
👍 Good MVP:
✅ A simple Google Sheet
✅ A Notion page
✅ A WhatsApp group (yes, really)
✅ A basic website with a sign-up button

💡 Example: Paytm started as a simple mobile recharge website before expanding into full-scale fintech. No over-engineering, just testing demand.

🛠 What you can do today:
💡 Got an app idea? Create a WhatsApp community and manage it manually.
💡 Got an e-com idea? Sell a limited batch on Instagram before setting up a website.

👉 Challenge: What’s the fastest and cheapest way you can launch your startup idea in the next 48 hours? Build that.

✅ 3. The Landing Page Hack – Test Demand Before You Build 🌍

Think people want your product? Make them prove it.

📌 What to do:
- Build a landing page (Carrd, Webflow, Framer).
- Run ₹500 worth of Instagram/Google ads.
- See how many people sign up / click "buy."

🔥 Real-life hack: Clubhouse (the audio app) had a simple landing page and invite-only sign-ups, creating artificial scarcity. Demand skyrocketed before the full app was even built.

🚀 Action Step:

1️⃣ Create a landing page → Add a “Coming Soon” button.
2️⃣ Run Instagram ads for ₹500.
3️⃣ No clicks? Time to rethink. Lots of clicks? 🚀 GO BUILD.

✅ 4. The Fake Door Test – Trick People (For Good) 🚪

Instead of building a full product, pretend like it already exists and measure demand.

• List your product online (Amazon, Google Ads, or a website).

• Let people try to buy it.

• Instead of a purchase, show a “Waitlist” or “Coming Soon” message.

💡 Example: Zappos (now a billion-dollar company) tested demand by posting fake shoe listings online. When people clicked to buy, they manually fulfilled orders before setting up operations.

🚀 Action Step: Run a fake door test and see how many people take action. If no one clicks, you just saved yourself months of wasted effort.

✅ 5. The “10-Person” Rule – Does It Spread Organically? 📢

If your startup idea is actually good, people will naturally spread it.

🚨 Red flag: If you tell 10 people about your idea, and nobody gets excited, it’s probably not worth pursuing.

🔹 Real-life hack: Canva became huge because early users LOVED it and shared it organically. Melanie Perkins’ pitch to investors was simple: “People suck at design. We make it easy.” Investors AND customers instantly got it.

🚀 Action Step: Reach out to 5 industry experts, mentors, or investors. If all of them dismiss your idea, rethink it. If some show interest, you’re onto something.

💀 Brutal Truth: Ideas Are Cheap. Validation Is Everything.

Most startup founders waste years building something nobody wants.

But you? You’re smarter. Hopefully!

Just kidding!
You’ll validate before you build → Launch faster → Find real customers before spending money.

🚀 Want a second opinion on your startup idea?
Reply to this email, and I’ll personally give you my thoughts!

🚀 Final Challenge:
If you had to validate your startup idea in 48 hours, what would you do?

Stay sharp,
Jay Desai