# Idea validation checklist

Tick or strike each line. A struck line is a finding, not a failure.

## Before you write anything

1. [ ] I can name one specific person with this problem, including their job and their situation.
2. [ ] I have heard four different people describe the problem using roughly the same phrase.
3. [ ] I can write that phrase down, and it is the phrase people would type into a search box.
4. [ ] I know what they do about it today, described the way they would describe it.
5. [ ] I know roughly what the workaround costs them per month, in hours or money, and I have written the estimate down as an estimate.
6. [ ] I know why the workaround has survived. (It usually survives for a reason.)

## Before you write the page

7. [ ] I have opened the pricing pages of the two nearest incumbents today, and written down the entry price with the date.
8. [ ] I can say in one sentence what they do not do, without using the word "simple".
9. [ ] After lines 7 and 8, the problem is still unsolved. (If it is solved, stop here. This is a good outcome.)
10. [ ] I know where these people already look for answers: a search term, a forum, a group, or a person they ask.
11. [ ] I have written the price down before writing any copy.
12. [ ] I can defend the price in one sentence, to a sceptic, without adjectives.

## Before you publish

13. [ ] There is at least one page here that would be useful even if the product never ships.
14. [ ] The page says the product does not exist, above the fold.
15. [ ] The signup asks how much they want it, not just whether they want it.
16. [ ] I have written down the number of signups that means yes, and by when.
17. [ ] I have written down the number that means no. (This is the one people skip.)
18. [ ] I have written three sentences about the most likely way this experiment misleads me.

## After sixty days

19. [ ] I have re-read line 18 before interpreting the results.
20. [ ] I have told the people who signed up what the answer was, including when the answer was no.

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Used on every idea at https://waitlist.esquyna.com. Lines 9, 17 and 20 are the ones that cost something.