A common question I get from entrepreneurs is what do I think of their idea. I always tell them it doesn’t matter what I think or what they think, but rather what potential customers think and do about it. Here are a couple of ways to test if you have a good idea or not.

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Don’t ask about your idea

First read The Mom Test. Ask potential customers questions about what they are working on, their problems, and how they are currently trying to solve them. When you ask about your idea early, people will be nice and tell you they like your idea, they would use your product, and they would pay for it. Don’t believe it! Also seek diverse perspectives to challenge your idea if you are only hearing how great your idea is.

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Look at what potential customers are already doing

Everyone has opinions. Give far more weight to opinions based on what the potential customer has already done versus what they say they would do. It is easy to say you would do something. But what have you actually done in the past to identify the problem, try and solve it, and feel the pain of the limitations with the current way? These are far better indicators that they are serious about solving the problem because they have already tried.

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Do they lean in and take action

Lastly, be careful when potential customers answer all your questions with short answers. If they really like the idea, they will be leaning in and asking you more questions about implementation and use of the product. Testing their desire with a landing page, offering a design partnership, putting money down for a pre-order are all a few examples of pushing them further to show true authentic demand. It’s okay if they won’t take the next step; but then you have a reason to push harder on why they say no versus just falsely believing they would buy it in the future.

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I have never met an entrepreneur who didn’t think they have a good idea. But I highly encourage vetting that idea in an unbiased way, pushing potential customers on what they have already done, and asking them to take a next step to prove they believe in your idea.

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