2 builders who never spoke to each other

Climb a ladder of tests with a rising bar

Run validation as a sequence of small experiments, each one asking more of the buyer than the last, so that when something fails you know which assumption broke. Before every task, ask whether the experiment could run without it, because most of what feels like preparation is a way of not running the test.

The method

1. 01

   Validate in a ladder of tests with a rising bar instead of one big launch, so that when something fails you know which assumption broke.

2. 02

   Validate a product in three separate steps rather than one: check that it solves your own problem, then that it works for people unlike you, then that someone will actually put a card in.

3. 03

   Treat each stage of building as conditional on the previous stage producing obvious demand, and stop if it does not.

4. 04

   Set the smallest goal that still counts as progress, because an attainable target is harder to talk yourself out of than an ambitious one.

5. 05

   Before starting any task in service of a validation experiment, ask whether the experiment can be run without it, and drop the task whenever the answer is yes.

What it returned

• $100

  Zue aimed to earn one dollar rather than to quit his job, then $100, then $1,000, and took five years to replace his salary; he suggests aiming for five new followers instead of going viral.

• Zue's first test asked only whether people could operate the product and whether they valued it enough to hand over an email, reasoning that failing that bar ruled out ever charging.

• The sequence was mockup, then open source, then paid, then new features, then full-time work, with each step unlocked only by the popularity of the one before it.

• Incorporating a company and opening a business bank account were real goals for Zue, just not dependencies of finding out whether anyone would buy place cards

Sources

• SaaS lessons shared on the Framework podcast - Fathom AnalyticsPaul Jarvis · usefathom.com · Starting Fathom Analytics as the first simple, privacy-focused web analytics company · 2020-07-20
• Testing an MVP with Google Ads and AnalyticsCory Zue · coryzue.com · Defining the Test · 2017-05-17
• Quit Monkey, Grit MonkeyCory Zue · coryzue.com · Lower your expectations · 2023-02-28
• Introducing ScrivCory Zue · coryzue.com · Are custom chatbots useful? · 2023-08-03
• Week 7 RetrospectiveCory Zue · coryzue.com · Time · 2017-05-08
• I Spent a Week Yak Shaving Instead of Running a Pricing TestCory Zue · coryzue.com · Differentiating your yaks · 2017-06-02