Overview: Validate the Need

You believe you've identified a compelling need.  That's good.  But remember, until you verify it, it's just a hypothesis.

By far the best verification is having customers pay for it.  For that reaon (and because revenue is a very good thing) it's a good idea to focus on getting revenue as early as you possibly can.  It's easy for people to say they like your product.  You find out if they like it enough when you ask them to pay.

And of course, it is possible to sell something before it even exists.

But the other thing you can do early on, to increase your confidence that you're building the right thing, is to validate the need by talking with customers.  The materials in this section give you some pointers on how to do that.

And you should take time to do it.  Don't spend a lot of time developing a product if you're not reasonably sure there are customers who need it!