For early-stage startup founders, listing assumptions is a foundational exercise. Chief among these assumptions is the idea that people want this product. While intuitive, this assumption can lead founders into what we’ll call the “pain cave” — a place where effort is wasted validating the wrong things.
Here’s why testing this assumption often fails and what to do instead.
The Pain Cave Problem
1. Nobody Wants Your Product (and That’s Normal)
The harsh reality is that nobody is clamouring for your product. Prospective customers rarely wake up thinking, “Today’s the day I invest in new enterprise software!”
When founders attempt to test whether people want their product, they typically look for approximations of demand:
- Do they have Problem X?
- Are they frustrated by Pain Point Y?
While it’s easy to validate the existence of problems and pain points, this approach can be deceptive. Humans encounter countless problems and frustrations daily, but most of them remain unsolved because they aren’t worth the effort to fix.
Focusing solely on validating problems or pain points risks building a product nobody will actually buy. Instead, founders need to zero in on a much more actionable question:
- What specific project are they trying to accomplish, and how can our product help them do it better than their alternatives?
By shifting the focus to actual projects — tangible efforts customers are actively pursuing — founders can avoid vague insights and test for real demand.
A Better Hypothesis
Instead of validating broad problems or pain points, create a hypothesis tied to a specific customer project. This approach allows you to test the following:
- Do they have a project they need to complete?
- What alternative solutions are they considering?
- Does your proposed product outperform these alternatives?
By framing your product as a tool for a specific purpose, you can determine whether it has a meaningful place in your customers’ workflows.
The Danger of Counterproductive Feedback
2. Mockups Without Context Lead to Useless Input
Another common trap occurs when founders showcase product mockups or prototypes too early, without understanding how the product fits into the customer’s world.
If potential users don’t already see the product as a way to accomplish something on their to-do list, their feedback is often counterproductive. Comments like:
- “Have you considered adding XYZ feature?”
- “This could be useful for ABC niche.”
- “I can see how this might be helpful!”
While seemingly positive, such feedback often leads founders astray, giving false confidence and inspiring unnecessary feature development. Without a clear link between your product and the customer’s immediate needs, feedback is just noise.
A Case Study Approach
Instead of showing a product mockup outright, try leading with a hypothetical or real customer case study. This method shifts the conversation to whether your product fits into their current workflow. For example:
- Do they have the project described in the case study?
- What options have they explored for completing it?
- How does your proposed solution compare to their alternatives?
- Does the concept make sense to them?
Only once these questions are answered should you seek feedback on your mockup or demo. This ensures that their input is grounded in genuine interest and consideration.
Conclusion: Stop Asking “Do People Want This Product?”
Testing the assumption that “people want this product” often leads to wasted time and misleading validation. Instead, focus on whether your product helps customers achieve specific goals more effectively than their current options.
By aligning your testing approach with real-world customer priorities, you can gain insights that matter and build a product people not only want but need.
