How do you validate your prototype with customers and investors before launching?

1 Define your assumptions

The first step to validate your prototype is to define your assumptions about your problem, solution, and value proposition. These are the hypotheses that you want to test with your experiments. For example, you might assume that your target customers have a specific pain point, that your prototype solves it effectively, and that they are willing to pay for it. Write down your assumptions clearly and prioritize them based on their risk and importance.

3 Design your experiments

The third step is to design your experiments based on your methods and assumptions. You need to define your goals, metrics, and success criteria for each experiment. For example, if you want to test your value proposition with a landing page, you need to set a goal (e.g., sign-ups), a metric (e.g., conversion rate), and a success criterion (e.g., 10% or more). You also need to plan how to recruit and segment your participants, how to run and monitor your experiments, and how to avoid biases and errors.

4 Run your experiments

The fourth step is to run your experiments with your prototype and collect data from your customers and investors. You need to follow your plan and execute your experiments in a consistent and reliable way. You also need to track and record your data and feedback carefully and objectively. Depending on the results, you might need to iterate or pivot your prototype or run more experiments to validate or invalidate your assumptions.

5 Analyze your results

The fifth step is to analyze your results and draw conclusions from your experiments. You need to compare your data and feedback with your goals, metrics, and success criteria. You also need to identify the patterns, insights, and learnings that emerge from your experiments. For example, you might discover that your customers have a different pain point than you assumed, that your prototype needs more features or less complexity, or that your investors have different expectations or concerns.

6 Apply your learnings

The final step is to apply your learnings and improve your prototype based on your results. You need to use the feedback and insights from your customers and investors to validate or invalidate your assumptions and refine your problem, solution, and value proposition. You also need to update your prototype accordingly and prepare for the next stage of your startup journey. By validating your prototype with customers and investors before launching, you can increase your chances of creating a product that solves a real problem and attracts funding.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?