The Curse of Validation
How to not to fail at making a product.
I’ve been spending a lot of time over last year or two talking to architects and product owners about getting to MVP (minimum viable product), MLP (minimum loveable product) and how do we prove this will work. I’ve also been working on my own products (technical engineering challenges) and a traditional business on the main drag.
Some typical questions are:
“How do we know this design is secure?”
“How do we know customers will like this?”
“Would customers actually pay for this?”
“Can we get validation?”
The answer is you can’t. Not in the honest spirit of the question.
The problem is we’re trying to get certainty before the “thing” is on the market. We’re trying to project ahead in time and trying to work out if a certain outcome is possible. Yet, the clock doesn’t start once we have a part ready or some features built. The clock starts once we have the whole thing out there ready to use. You can call this version 1.0 of the product.
Also there are too many variables for a product like marketing, pricing, timing and messaging which can screw the projection completely.
How to Fail
You can’t validate something whilst you’re in the middle of it. If you think you can then you’re probably already too far lost from the start. Kind of like asking for directions when you don’t know where you’re going,
The easiest way to less certainty is to ask someone’s opinion. Its super easy to assume that the more opinions you have, the more certain you will be. In practical terms the opposite is the case.
If you want to have less confidence in yourself, less certainty of the outcome then just ask someone what they think. It works every time.
Barcelona
I live in Barcelona, a city full of startups. However, not in the conventional sense of the word. Barcelona has many economic migrants, we’d call them expats if they were white. The latest bunch arrived after the USA firmed up its borders post 9/11 and they are of Pakistani origin. When opening up a new business they wouldn’t ask for validation along the way. They would try a business idea, version 1.0, and if it fails try something else whilst trying to burn as little money along the way as possible.
The deal is you will not be able to validate something that doesn’t exist or is an idea. Someone’s guess. To validate a sketch, wireframe or MVP that isn’t the actual product then it’s a sure route to failure.
Make the whole product
It all starts with a hunch or a feeling that something will work. It’s basically a bet. Yet one that should be de-risked as much as possible.
So I’d say if you want to make a product, make the whole thing.
The simplest version of 1.0, put it out there and learn. And if you want answers then make sure you ask the right question: hey market what do you think about the working version 1.0 of my product?
Live, learn and enjoy the journey.
