BlueChromeTouch
New Contributor
I have heard that it's best to talk to actual customers about your problem/solution in real life.
I have tried to do this before. I had an idea for specialized headphones for solving noisy office environment without going deaf.
I visited a high rise commercial center where a lot of people worked. At around 4:00PM, I caught a couple dozen people going home from work. Most people I approached quickly shut me down for an interview. A few had rather visceral reactions to being approached by a random stranger albeit a polite one.
Finally there were some 30 people who gave me a few minutes of their time for a problem/solution interview. Most of the interviews went along the lines of.....noise in the office is a big problem.....a common solution they used was headphones albeit damaging to long term hearing.
After everything was said and done, I felt like the whole process of interviewing people in real life was a bit cringy. Even though I had validated my problem/solution, I didn't feel like I had gained valuable insight on whether my idea had good growth potential. Potential that someone could commit years of their life to. E.g. most people wouldn't want to commit to a new fashion line business or donuts business. The demand is irrational for the former and local demand is small for the latter.
So I guess my question is what are some good tactics to validate a product? Especially if this validation motivated you to take a plunge on an idea.
I have tried to do this before. I had an idea for specialized headphones for solving noisy office environment without going deaf.
I visited a high rise commercial center where a lot of people worked. At around 4:00PM, I caught a couple dozen people going home from work. Most people I approached quickly shut me down for an interview. A few had rather visceral reactions to being approached by a random stranger albeit a polite one.
Finally there were some 30 people who gave me a few minutes of their time for a problem/solution interview. Most of the interviews went along the lines of.....noise in the office is a big problem.....a common solution they used was headphones albeit damaging to long term hearing.
After everything was said and done, I felt like the whole process of interviewing people in real life was a bit cringy. Even though I had validated my problem/solution, I didn't feel like I had gained valuable insight on whether my idea had good growth potential. Potential that someone could commit years of their life to. E.g. most people wouldn't want to commit to a new fashion line business or donuts business. The demand is irrational for the former and local demand is small for the latter.
So I guess my question is what are some good tactics to validate a product? Especially if this validation motivated you to take a plunge on an idea.
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