Startup Foundations

Do You Have Founder Market Fit or Just Industry Experience?
A decision test for founders with years in an industry: check buyer access, category insight, credibility and execution before committing time or capital.

How to Compare Problem Severity Across Customer Segments
Compare problem severity across customer segments with shared definitions, one observation window, medians and commitment rates, plus a reusable segment scorecard.

Why Positive Feedback Is Weak Evidence of Demand
Praise costs the giver nothing. Sort positive feedback by frequency, workaround cost and commitment to separate a frequent inconvenience from a paid problem.

Problem Validation Scorecard: Pain, Frequency, and Budget
A copyable problem severity scorecard with fields for frequency, workaround cost and budget commitment, to separate a frequent inconvenience from a paid problem.

How to Test a Customer Problem Before Building a Product
Test a customer problem before building: set pass lines, check frequency from records, cost the workaround and ask for a commitment, in that order.

Is Your Startup Solving a Problem People Will Pay to Fix?
Score a startup problem on frequency, workaround cost and buyer commitment to tell a frequent inconvenience from a problem people will pay to fix.

Does Your Interview Evidence Justify Building an MVP?
Before building an MVP, compare interview findings with buying behavior: set an observation window, indicators and thresholds, then continue, change or stop.

When Customer Interviews Say Yes but Nobody Buys
Customer interviews went well but nobody bought? Check the ask, recent purchases, the current workaround and the budget owner, then test one targeted fix.

Customer Interview Notes Template for Founders
A customer interview notes template that tags each entry as said, seen, done or assumed, so founders can compare interview findings with buying behavior.

How to Run a Customer Interview Without Pitching
Run a customer interview without pitching: what to prepare, what to ask, when to stay quiet and how to compare what buyers said with what they did next.

Customer Discovery Questions That Reveal Buying Intent
Ask customer discovery questions about purchases, workarounds, and budget owners. Use an evidence map to choose the next commercial test.

Validate a Startup Idea Before Building
Test a startup idea through buyer interviews, existing workflows, and concrete commitments. Use a practical worksheet to decide what to build, narrow, or stop.