Planning
How to validate a business idea cheaply
Validate a business idea for under $200 before building: 20 problem interviews, a one-page offer, and a small pre-sale test. Steps, costs and what counts as a real signal.
- 3 August 2026
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How do I validate a business idea cheaply before building anything?
Cheap validation costs under $200 and two to three weeks: 15–20 conversations with people who have the problem, a one-page description of the offer, and an attempt to get 3–5 people to actually pay or commit before you build. A real signal is money or a signed commitment changing hands — interest and compliments are not signals.
Last updated 3 August 2026
| Method | Cost | What it proves |
|---|---|---|
| Problem interviews (15–20) | $0, 8–10 hours | The problem is real and painful enough to talk about |
| One-page offer + waitlist | $0–$50 | People will give an email for it |
| Pre-sale or deposit | $0–$100 to set up payment | People will pay before it exists |
| Concierge MVP (do it manually) | $0–$50 | You can actually deliver the result |
Do this
The steps, in order.
- Step 1
Talk to 15–20 people who have the problem
Ask about the problem, not the idea. 'How do you currently deal with X?' teaches more than 'would you use an app that does X?', which almost everyone answers yes to out of politeness.
- Step 2
Write the offer on one page before building anything
What it does, who it's for, roughly what it costs. If this page doesn't get a reaction, the product won't either.
- Step 3
Try to get money, not just emails
A $10 deposit or a signed letter of intent is worth more than 100 email signups. It's the only test that removes politeness bias.
- Step 4
Deliver the result manually for the first few
Do by hand what the product would eventually automate. It's slower per customer but proves you can deliver before you spend months building the automation.
- Step 5
Set a number that would make you stop
Decide in advance how many of 20 conversations need to show real pain, and how many of 10 asks need to convert to a payment, before you invest further.
Worth knowing
The bits people get wrong.
The most common validation mistake is asking people what they think instead of watching what they do. Opinions are free and generous; behaviour costs something and tells the truth. A pre-sale, a deposit or a signed pilot agreement is behaviour; a nodding head on a call is not.
Cheap validation should take weeks, not months. If it's dragging past a month, the likely cause is asking too many hypothetical questions instead of running one small real test, such as a landing page with a genuine payment link behind it.
Questions
Follow-up questions.
How many people do I need to talk to before validating an idea?
15–20 structured problem conversations is usually enough to see a clear pattern. Fewer than 10 tends to be too noisy; more than 30 rarely changes the conclusion.
Is a landing page with signups enough validation?
It's a weak signal on its own. An email address costs the visitor nothing. A page that asks for a deposit or a credit card, even refundable, is a much stronger test.
What if nobody will pay before the product exists?
That's a real and useful result. It usually means either the problem isn't urgent enough or the offer isn't specific enough yet — both are cheaper to learn now than after months of building.
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