2 builders who never spoke to each other

Name the route to the first buyers before building

Write down specifically how the first twenty-five customers arrive and then how the next few hundred do, and treat the absence of a plausible answer as a reason to drop the idea. Reachability is a property of the market you chose, so it has to be settled while the choice is still open.

The method

1. 01

   Before committing to an idea, write down specifically how you will land the first 25 customers, and then how the following 250 arrive.

2. 02

   Decide how you will reach the first 25 customers before you build anything; if no plausible route exists, that is a reason to drop the idea rather than ship it.

3. 03

   Multiply both customer thresholds by ten if you are selling to consumers rather than businesses.

4. 04

   Ask whether success would be defensible: what the switching costs are, whether you can hold customers long term, and whether a far bigger competitor could ship your feature in a week once you have proved the demand for them.

5. 05

   Getting the channel or the business model wrong will kill you even if everything else is right, so solve those two before you run out of money.

What it returned

• 2

  Framed as a screening criterion carried over from Chapter 2 on evaluating ideas

• 25

  The 25 and 250 figures are calibrated for B2B, becoming 250 and 2,500 for direct-to-consumer

• One of the five questions on his idea screen, alongside whether people are already paying for this and whether he is the right person to build it.

• Runway exists to buy time for those answers, so the real question is whether you close them before the money ends.

Sources

• Business Idea Evaluation Qustions – Jakob GreenfeldTyler Tringas · jakobgreenfeld.com · Business Idea Evaluation Qustions · 2022-04-21
• ⭐️ The channel/offer/unfair advantages framework for evaluating business ideas – Jakob GreenfeldJakob Greenfeld · jakobgreenfeld.com · ⭐️ The channel/offer/unfair advantages framework for evaluating business ideas · 2022-05-10
• Ideas aren't cheapJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · Putting our ideas into action · undated
• Business is like surfingJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · What makes a good market · undated
• Why you should go after a market with strong demandJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · Can you reach the market? · undated
• How to Get Startup Ideas: The Meat Grinder Approach - Tyler TringasTyler Tringas · tylertringas.com · How will I get the first 25 customers? Then the next 250? · 2016-04-23
• Chapter 5: Getting Your First Customers - Tyler TringasTyler Tringas · tylertringas.com · 2017-01-19
• Chapter 2: What Makes A Good Micro-SaaS Idea? - Tyler TringasTyler Tringas · tylertringas.com · Have at least one channel for the first 25 and 250 customers · 2016-10-28
• I haven't started my journey yet. How do I plan my 10 year outcome?Preetam Nath · preetamnath.com · I haven't started my journey yet. How do I plan my 10 year outcome? · 2021-02-27
• 3 pillars to building a successful businessPreetam Nath · preetamnath.com · Pillar 2 · 2020-06-07
• 42 Questions to Ask Before Starting a BusinessPreetam Nath · preetamnath.com · What is success to me? And do I have what is needed to get there? · 2021-01-10
• Startups are a complex multivariable equationPreetam Nath · preetamnath.com · Startups are a complex multivariable equation · 2020-09-20
• 9 marketing strategies I've learned as an indie makerLuca Restagno · solopreneurtofreedom.com · 1. Have in mind who are your customers · 2024-05-05