Did I validate my idea?...Well, my Idea was to stay at home. Doing nothing
A question I’m often being asked is how I validated my idea.
Well, my “idea” wasn’t exactly one idea, but I wanted:
To stay at home, without working for 6 to 12 months, after suffering from burnout. I wrote more here
To make things the way I wanted to do
To have the freedom to work whenever and whatever I wanted to
To never work long hours anymore
To have money to spend without thinking about
So, that’s what I immediately did, right after leaving my job.
Is my idea validated? :)
After some time at home, I received a proposal to create a new project. I did a counteroffer to create a new product. In a way that I’d be able to sell to others (Would give me more freedom, to work at my own pace).
I was already doing things towards what I wanted next.
Packing everything together, led me to Nera creation, which I wrote in more details on Issue 10 - Product creation
Today, I see that Everesti (my former company) and Nera (my product) was a clear image of what I wanted to do. But at the end, what I wanted to do was meaningless.
If I had thought about the idea and how hard it was to “validate” it, I wouldn’t have started the company. Why? B2B is hard
How would I validate a B2B product?
Sales processes as long as 1 year
Meetings over meetings with one company to try to make a deal
We could brake, as corporations take 30 to 90 days to pay an invoice
But, I put my head down towards my goals of having freedom. Never work long hours anymore. Make things my way.
Sometimes, looks like we’re having a lucky moment. Things start to get aligned.
Of course, you need to multiply your chances of things happening “by accident”. But what did I do?
I worked from the client’s office, for almost 1 year. Talking daily with potential users. Buyers. Showing up every single day. With Nera, I wanted to help customers. To build real-time dashboards. The product would save clients’ time, money and help with decisions.
I followed the suggestions, that today, we see spread everywhere:
Being visible
Showing up
Lifting others up
Building in the open
Being helpful
This non-validation process helped me not give up on the idea before going live. My situation forced and also allowed me to do so.
This is a reminder that looking to “validate an idea” is not the only way to be successful.
Rosie’s post on IH resonates a lot with when I launched my former company.
I didn’t know, but at the time, I was validating my vision.
Did you validate your idea before starting?
This issue was inspired by Rosie’s post Don't validate ideas. Validate visions
Very good thread on IH discussing the importance of idea validation: Is idea validation important to you?
I’m also on Twitter, sharing insights for founders. Come and say Hi!
Do you know anyone who would be benefited from my story? Please, forward it.
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