Creator business · Ideas to Actions · 16 October 2026
Test an idea before building
Replace a promising guess with one useful conversation and a small experiment.
Name the assumption
An idea usually contains several guesses. Someone has a problem. They care enough to change what they do. Your proposed solution could help. Pick one assumption to investigate first. Writing it down prevents a pleasant conversation from turning into evidence for every part of the idea.
Ask about a real moment
Find someone who experiences the problem and ask them to describe the last time it happened. What were they trying to do? What did they use? Where did they get stuck? Listen for the sequence of events. Avoid pitching before you understand their current approach.
Separate interest from behavior
Compliments can be encouraging, but they do not tell you how someone will use a product. Look for a concrete next step that fits the experiment: trying a prototype, sending an example or returning for a second session. Record what they actually do. A small sample can guide another experiment; it does not establish market demand by itself.
Your next move
Write one assumption in a sentence. List three people who might experience the problem. Draft a short invitation asking one of them to describe their current process. In the conversation, ask about a specific recent example before showing your solution.
Decide the next experiment
Write what the conversation supported and what remains uncertain. Then choose the least expensive experiment that can answer the next question. That may be a sketch or a manual service. Building more software is one possible next move, and it should have a reason.