How Else Can I Validate My Idea? (Service Industry)

[przyszlymilioner]

Hi, I need feedback on a potential business idea. In my country, I’m familiar with the mobile operator industry, and to put it bluntly, the extent to which people are being screwed over by big corporations is sometimes outright absurd. People are often tricked into paying for things they don’t need, and even worse, they are simply deceived by salespeople. The way sales targets are set makes it nearly impossible for salespeople to hit them without misleading customers—I know what I’m talking about.

Recently, I re-read Unscripted , and a new idea was born: helping people by offering consultancy services that could save them a significant amount of money over the duration of their contracts. I tried launching this on Facebook groups, but unfortunately, every post was deleted—it probably sounded like a scam, even though the real scam is how corporations treat customers.

I also tried researching trends on Google in different ways, and the phrase "telecom consultancy" didn’t seem to be a popular search term. But at the same time, these very same people will walk into a store and start World War III after realizing they’ve been scammed. The target audience is broad—everyone from young people to the elderly.

Sometimes I feel like these people don’t even realize they need help, even though they could save a lot of money. It seems like I would have to educate them first before offering my services. But is it even worth fighting against such a powerful system?

Could someone with more experience suggest what steps I could take to validate my idea? TikTok? YouTube?

 

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[Jobless]

Many people get scammed, but especially stupid people. Stupid people think they know best. They do not buy the time of consultants. So the offer to them has to be simpler and more straight-forward than the scam offer they fell for. Do not paint them as gullible, instead focus on how much MONEY you can save them, and how fast, and how evil the other companies are.

I've seen some variants of this business, and I agree it's hard to start. People lack awareness. For example there are services to help people cancel unneeded subscriptions or to reclaim money that was spent on rent, or reclaim money on VAT/taxes in some form. There's service companies that simply help you fill in some government paperwork and send it in. You should study that.

Look up how injury lawyers advertise their services. It's bold and clear, like "INJURED AT WORK? WE CAN HELP YOU CLAIM $500K+". Don't get complicated.

Think about 1. How much money can you save the typical customer? 2. How much of this saving will you get? 3. What is your advantage (information advantage, technical, legal, etc.) over the deceptive companies? Because they will fight you to try to remove this advantage. There's big differences depending on the method of help you provide. There's also big differences in the source of money. Does the money saved come from 1. less spending in the future, or 2. being rewarded a refund by the company, or 3. some type of government compensation.

 

[MTF]

Honestly, this is unlikely to work.

You're trying to sell prevention which is the toughest sell there is.

 

[Antifragile]

Hi, I need feedback on a potential business idea. In my country, I’m familiar with the mobile operator industry, and to put it bluntly, the extent to which people are being screwed over by big corporations is sometimes outright absurd. People are often tricked into paying for things they don’t need, and even worse, they are simply deceived by salespeople. The way sales targets are set makes it nearly impossible for salespeople to hit them without misleading customers—I know what I’m talking about.

Recently, I re-read Unscripted , and a new idea was born: helping people by offering consultancy services that could save them a significant amount of money over the duration of their contracts. I tried launching this on Facebook groups, but unfortunately, every post was deleted—it probably sounded like a scam, even though the real scam is how corporations treat customers.

I also tried researching trends on Google in different ways, and the phrase "telecom consultancy" didn’t seem to be a popular search term. But at the same time, these very same people will walk into a store and start World War III after realizing they’ve been scammed. The target audience is broad—everyone from young people to the elderly.

Sometimes I feel like these people don’t even realize they need help, even though they could save a lot of money. It seems like I would have to educate them first before offering my services. But is it even worth fighting against such a powerful system?

Could someone with more experience suggest what steps I could take to validate my idea? TikTok? YouTube?

It won't work. @MTF nailed it.

But turn it around. If everyone is out there, as you say "screwing their customers", can you start a telecom company that wouldn't screw customers? Would it still be profitable? Can you compete? What would your value-skew look like?

a) Remember, short of government preventing competition, whenever you see someone making higher than "normal" profits, someone else will enter the field and compete.

b) Also remember, if people are getting screwed it's the lowest hanging fruit for a competition to brand-position: show how they don't screw people.

With both a) and b) together, I am here to tell you that what you consider "screwing" is just an incentive misalignment. I may well be one of those customers who are getting screwed by paying for mobile service that I don't need, but the money is so small and insignificant that I am OK with that, until such time when say I am out of money entirely and start looking for areas to cut my costs. Then I am suddenly acutely aware of the amount I am paying and will re-negotiate.

Instead of focusing on this type of low margin consultancy, think bigger - do you see a systemic problem that can be solved by a telecom company? Can you lead that change? Can you fix that problem from within?

 

[Andy Black]

Could you post short videos that blew people's minds and had them checking their contracts? Would they tag their friends so they didn't fall foul of these scams?

Could you send people from those videos to some sort of online calculator or comparison tool to help consumers choose the best plan for them?

Could that help you generate leads of people looking for new mobile contracts?

Could a mobile service provider pay for those leads?


I'd start by checking if anyone's creating these sorts of videos, even for other services.

I'd also check the Google Keyword Planner to see if people are searching for information on how to choose mobile service providers.

And I'd check to see if there's online communities where people are complaining.

 

[przyszlymilioner]

Many people get scammed, but especially stupid people. Stupid people think they know best. They do not buy the time of consultants. So the offer to them has to be simpler and more straight-forward than the scam offer they fell for. Do not paint them as gullible, instead focus on how much MONEY you can save them, and how fast, and how evil the other companies are.

I've seen some variants of this business, and I agree it's hard to start. People lack awareness. For example there are services to help people cancel unneeded subscriptions or to reclaim money that was spent on rent, or reclaim money on VAT/taxes in some form. There's service companies that simply help you fill in some government paperwork and send it in. You should study that.

Look up how injury lawyers advertise their services. It's bold and clear, like "INJURED AT WORK? WE CAN HELP YOU CLAIM $500K+". Don't get complicated.

Think about 1. How much money can you save the typical customer? 2. How much of this saving will you get? 3. What is your advantage (information advantage, technical, legal, etc.) over the deceptive companies? Because they will fight you to try to remove this advantage. There's big differences depending on the method of help you provide. There's also big differences in the source of money. Does the money saved come from 1. less spending in the future, or 2. being rewarded a refund by the company, or 3. some type of government compensation.

Thanks for the valuable insight! I work in sales, and I had exactly the same thoughts about the message—I wanted to approach it exactly the way you described! On average, I can realistically save my clients around $500–$700 over two years, but there are some clients who could save significantly more. Of course, there are also those who would save less than $500.

I was thinking of a margin for myself of around 30–40%.

My advantage is my INSIDERS knowledge of this entire business. Additionally, I have experience in writing effective complaints. I’m fully aware that I will be a thorn in the side of many corporations, but beyond that, I feel a strong personal need to help these people. I just hope this won’t be a hopeless battle.

Honestly, this is unlikely to work.

You're trying to sell prevention which is the toughest sell there is.

I have the same concerns that the workload may not be proportional to the benefits, but I still want to give it a shot! I give up too early in life.

It won't work. @MTF nailed it.

But turn it around. If everyone is out there, as you say "screwing their customers", can you start a telecom company that wouldn't screw customers? Would it still be profitable? Can you compete? What would your value-skew look like?

a) Remember, short of government preventing competition, whenever you see someone making higher than "normal" profits, someone else will enter the field and compete.

b) Also remember, if people are getting screwed it's the lowest hanging fruit for a competition to brand-position: show how they don't screw people.

With both a) and b) together, I am here to tell you that what you consider "screwing" is just an incentive misalignment. I may well be one of those customers who are getting screwed by paying for mobile service that I don't need, but the money is so small and insignificant that I am OK with that, until such time when say I am out of money entirely and start looking for areas to cut my costs. Then I am suddenly acutely aware of the amount I am paying and will re-negotiate.

Instead of focusing on this type of low margin consultancy, think bigger - do you see a systemic problem that can be solved by a telecom company? Can you lead that change? Can you fix that problem from within?

Unfortunately, I can’t start a company because it requires a huge financial investment, and I’m just a small fish—for now! Even if these companies weren’t deceiving people, they would still make good money—I have access to general financial reports. Corporations are driven by an endless hunger for profit, and shareholders must be satisfied.

I can’t change corporate policies. I can’t change things from the inside because they intentionally set sales targets so high that they know exactly what they’re doing. What I can do is be a voice of reason—a counterforce against them.

Could you post short videos that blew people's minds and had them checking their contracts? Would they tag their friends so they didn't fall foul of these scams?

Could you send people from those videos to some sort of online calculator or comparison tool to help consumers choose the best plan for them?

Could that help you generate leads of people looking for new mobile contracts?

Could a mobile service provider pay for those leads?


I'd start by checking if anyone's creating these sorts of videos, even for other services.

I'd also check the Google Keyword Planner to see if people are searching for information on how to choose mobile service providers.

And I'd check to see if there's online communities where people are complaining.

Andy, I know you’re the marketing expert here, so I’ll respond to both you and myself, and I also have a few more questions.

I want to start publishing videos, but for obvious reasons, I can’t show my face at this stage. Will that affect trust?

There are some general calculators available, but they’re designed to show only broad offers and comparisons. The real magic happens within corporate systems—only by understanding the internal dependencies can you create the best offer for a client, within the system’s limitations.

You’ve raised a lot of great questions, but I don’t know how far this can go. I’m not sure if companies would pay for leads—maybe they would if the project became widely recognized. My mission is to genuinely help people, and I don’t want to sell out for sponsored deals.

I did some research, and there’s barely any content on this topic. There’s one major video in my country with 400,000 views, but it was a sponsored piece that ultimately funneled people into a niche operator’s offer. But…

Eureka! I asked GPT, and it found a website in my country with thousands of negative reviews covering various complaints! People are frustrated with sales reps, poor network coverage, being scammed, and receiving penalties they believe are unjustified. There’s a ton of fresh complaints there. Thank you, GPT—I couldn’t find this through Google search!

Now, I have a question for you: What’s the best way to start? What strategy should I follow?

I was thinking of starting with TikTok—first, posting educational videos that expose the problem, and only after X number of videos introducing one that presents my offer. Do you think that’s a good approach?

I have some experience with websites, so I’m wondering—should I create a simple site (probably an hour or two of work) or just a landing page? Do you have any additional suggestions?

---

Thank you all for your responses—they’re incredibly valuable to me!

 

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[Andy Black]

I was thinking of starting with TikTok—first, posting educational videos that expose the problem, and only after X number of videos introducing one that presents my offer. Do you think that’s a good approach?

Start. Start posting and seeing if you can get views. No point wondering when to present an offer if you can't get any views.

You asked about showing your face. We don't need to show our faces. Stop worrying about it. If you don't want to show your face then don't. Just start.

I have some experience with websites, so I’m wondering—should I create a simple site (probably an hour or two of work) or just a landing page? Do you have any additional suggestions?

You don't need a landing page yet. You haven't put anything out there yet. I'd be more interested in getting comments on posts/videos and engaging in the comments.

And I'm not restricting it to TikTok videos. Maybe you go into that community you found and start helping people there. That sounds like the best place to start.

Check out "Who have you helped?" in my signature, and maybe some of the other links.

Remember... "Overthinking is the art of solving problems you don't have."

 

[przyszlymilioner]

Start. Start posting and seeing if you can get views. No point wondering when to present an offer if you can't get any views.

You asked about showing your face. We don't need to show our faces. Stop worrying about it. If you don't want to show your face then don't. Just start.


You don't need a landing page yet. You haven't put anything out there yet. I'd be more interested in getting comments on posts/videos and engaging in the comments.

And I'm not restricting it to TikTok videos. Maybe you go into that community you found and starr helping people there. That sounds like the best place to start.

Check out "Who have you helped?" in my signature, and maybe some of the other links.

Remember... "Overthinking is the art of solving problems you don't have."

Thank you so much! I'm starting, and I will definitely report back!

 

[Antifragile]

Unfortunately, I can’t start a company because it requires a huge financial investment, and I’m just a small fish—for now! Even if these companies weren’t deceiving people, they would still make good money—I have access to general financial reports. Corporations are driven by an endless hunger for profit, and shareholders must be satisfied.

I can’t change corporate policies. I can’t change things from the inside because they intentionally set sales targets so high that they know exactly what they’re doing. What I can do is be a voice of reason—a counterforce against them.

Two things:

1. First, not having a massive financial investment shouldn't deter you. Why does it have to be your money? Every aspiring entrepreneur I encounter seems to use the excuse, "I don't have the money." Money flows to where there's yield. If your business is profitable, money will come to it. Investors face a problem; they have money but need yield.
2. It's quite ironic to hear from someone aspiring to become rich through entrepreneurship say, "Corporations are driven by an endless hunger for profit, and shareholders must be satisfied," in a negative light.

What you might be overlooking is that your approach could lower profit margins. You seem to view these entities as exploitative based on your experiences, perhaps from working at such a company. But you're not thinking like an owner, like an entrepreneur.

Imagine I have $1 billion in cash. Where should I invest it? In a telecom business? What kind of yield would I need to see to be convinced to invest there? My decision would be measured against other investment opportunities. What yield am I looking for, and at what risk level? Uber is working on driverless cars; might that be a better investment? Or should I back Elon in his bid for OpenAI? Or maybe I should just start my own telecom, buy antennas, negotiate new leases for their placement, and there you have it, a new company is born.

The company you see as "exploiting others" was created by someone who's competing for capital to stay in business. And if they could lower prices to increase market share and grow, they would!

The point is, prices aren't driven by greed. Corporations can aim for whatever profit targets they like, but it's the market that decides if those prices are acceptable.

The market, not you, dictates this. You're not being a "voice of reason"; you're assuming people are being exploited because corporations "choose" to maximize profits.

Welcome to free markets.

Therefore, my numerous questions to you aim to shift your perspective—to start thinking like an entrepreneur.

 

[przyszlymilioner]

Start. Start posting and seeing if you can get views. No point wondering when to present an offer if you can't get any views.

You asked about showing your face. We don't need to show our faces. Stop worrying about it. If you don't want to show your face then don't. Just start.


You don't need a landing page yet. You haven't put anything out there yet. I'd be more interested in getting comments on posts/videos and engaging in the comments.

And I'm not restricting it to TikTok videos. Maybe you go into that community you found and start helping people there. That sounds like the best place to start.

Check out "Who have you helped?" in my signature, and maybe some of the other links.

Remember... "Overthinking is the art of solving problems you don't have."

Unfortunately, regarding the reviews I mentioned, I’m not able to participate because the rules prohibit it—you can only write about your own experiences. For now, I’ve launched a TikTok account and uploaded two videos showcasing the scale of the problem. Together, they’ve reached about 300 views, so they haven’t even made it into TikTok’s next funnel stages.

Two things:

1. First, not having a massive financial investment shouldn't deter you. Why does it have to be your money? Every aspiring entrepreneur I encounter seems to use the excuse, "I don't have the money." Money flows to where there's yield. If your business is profitable, money will come to it. Investors face a problem; they have money but need yield.
2. It's quite ironic to hear from someone aspiring to become rich through entrepreneurship say, "Corporations are driven by an endless hunger for profit, and shareholders must be satisfied," in a negative light.

What you might be overlooking is that your approach could lower profit margins. You seem to view these entities as exploitative based on your experiences, perhaps from working at such a company. But you're not thinking like an owner, like an entrepreneur.

Imagine I have $1 billion in cash. Where should I invest it? In a telecom business? What kind of yield would I need to see to be convinced to invest there? My decision would be measured against other investment opportunities. What yield am I looking for, and at what risk level? Uber is working on driverless cars; might that be a better investment? Or should I back Elon in his bid for OpenAI? Or maybe I should just start my own telecom, buy antennas, negotiate new leases for their placement, and there you have it, a new company is born.

The company you see as "exploiting others" was created by someone who's competing for capital to stay in business. And if they could lower prices to increase market share and grow, they would!

The point is, prices aren't driven by greed. Corporations can aim for whatever profit targets they like, but it's the market that decides if those prices are acceptable.

The market, not you, dictates this. You're not being a "voice of reason"; you're assuming people are being exploited because corporations "choose" to maximize profits.

Welcome to free markets.

Therefore, my numerous questions to you aim to shift your perspective—to start thinking like an entrepreneur.

Thank you for this post. Honestly, it gave me quite a mind-F*ck—in a positive way. There’s definitely some contradiction here, and I really need to work on my mindset. Do you have any other suggestions or books that could help me organize my entrepreneurial thinking?