10 years ago, I made the biggest mistake a founder can make - and it cost my startup everything.
It was a tough lesson, but also an incredibly valuable one. Because sometimes the best lessons come from failure.
Now, I don't want you to make the same mistake. I want you to build a successful startup that fulfils all your dreams.
So let me share with you the one key mistake I made, what I learned from it, and how you can avoid it - to make your startup journey a success.
Let's dive in.
It was a tough lesson, but also an incredibly valuable one. Because sometimes the best lessons come from failure.
Now, I don't want you to make the same mistake. I want you to build a successful startup that fulfils all your dreams.
So let me share with you the one key mistake I made, what I learned from it, and how you can avoid it - to make your startup journey a success.
Let's dive in.
You will learn:
→ The ONE startup mistake you must avoid at all costs.
My story
So let me take you back about 10 years. I joined my first startup and we had this big, exciting idea. The startup was all about digitizing the experience of going to the doctor.
Patients could connect with their doctors through an app, have online consultations, and even have their prescriptions delivered straight to their door. Super simple solution, huge impact.
We thought it was the coolest idea ever. I mean, imagine skipping the waiting room and getting everything done in just a few clicks. We were thrilled.
So what did we do?
We jumped right into development.
Patients could connect with their doctors through an app, have online consultations, and even have their prescriptions delivered straight to their door. Super simple solution, huge impact.
We thought it was the coolest idea ever. I mean, imagine skipping the waiting room and getting everything done in just a few clicks. We were thrilled.
So what did we do?
We jumped right into development.
📝 Quick POP Quiz:
Can you guess the mistake we made?
I'll show you in a minute.
So a few months went by and we had this amazing looking app. It was slick, intuitive and felt like something that could really make waves in the market.
All good, right?
Unfortunately not, now came the hard part - finding customers. But hey, we were confident that once people saw our app, they'd be as excited as we were.
So we started talking to people - patients, doctors and anyone else who might use the app. Patients seemed interested. They thought the idea had potential. But when we reached out to doctors, we hit a huge wall.
Doctors told us they didn't want to use the app because they felt it would take away the personal interaction with their patients. That personal connection was so important to them that the app just didn't fit with the way they wanted to work.
And that's when it hit us. That's when we realized the big mistake we'd made.
We didn't validate our solution. We just built it.
We got so caught up in how cool our idea was that we skipped the most important step - making sure people actually wanted it. And that was a big shock.
So after a while we had to 'kill' our startup. And it was hard. But it was also one of the most valuable lessons I've ever learned.
Powerful STARTUP RESOURCESAll good, right?
Unfortunately not, now came the hard part - finding customers. But hey, we were confident that once people saw our app, they'd be as excited as we were.
So we started talking to people - patients, doctors and anyone else who might use the app. Patients seemed interested. They thought the idea had potential. But when we reached out to doctors, we hit a huge wall.
Doctors told us they didn't want to use the app because they felt it would take away the personal interaction with their patients. That personal connection was so important to them that the app just didn't fit with the way they wanted to work.
And that's when it hit us. That's when we realized the big mistake we'd made.
We didn't validate our solution. We just built it.
We got so caught up in how cool our idea was that we skipped the most important step - making sure people actually wanted it. And that was a big shock.
So after a while we had to 'kill' our startup. And it was hard. But it was also one of the most valuable lessons I've ever learned.
The big learning
Here's the thing: You can have the best-looking product, the most innovative idea, or the slickest branding. But if you're not solving a real problem for your users, none of it matters.
That experience changed the way I approached startups forever.
Now, when I coach founders, one of the first things I tell them is to validate their ideas before they invest time and money in building anything.
But I'm not going to leave you with this theoretical knowledge. I want to show you, step by step, how to validate your idea so you don't make the same mistake I did.
You can validate your idea in 2 simple steps.
That experience changed the way I approached startups forever.
Now, when I coach founders, one of the first things I tell them is to validate their ideas before they invest time and money in building anything.
But I'm not going to leave you with this theoretical knowledge. I want to show you, step by step, how to validate your idea so you don't make the same mistake I did.
You can validate your idea in 2 simple steps.
How to validate your idea in 2 steps
Step 1: Define your customers
The first step is to define your potential customers. Ask yourself:
• Who are you going to sell your solution to?
• Who will use it?
You need to have a crystal clear idea of who your target audience is.
• Who are you going to sell your solution to?
• Who will use it?
You need to have a crystal clear idea of who your target audience is.
Step 2: Interview your customers
Ok, now that you know who your ideal customers are, it is time to validate your idea:
You go to your potential customers - the people who fit your personas - and ask them the following 9 questions:
Dear potential customer, ...
1. How are you currently … (fill in the problem you are trying to solve)
2. What's the most annoying thing about the way you … (fill in the problem you are trying to solve)
3. Why didn't you already change it?
4. How would it work in an ideal world for you?
5. Because I am thinking about creating … (fill in your solution)
6. Would this be valuable to you? Why? Why not?
7. Are there any solutions you have tried before?
8. How would this solution fit into your current workflow or daily routine?
9. Would you be interested in participating in a beta test for my solution?
You go to your potential customers - the people who fit your personas - and ask them the following 9 questions:
Dear potential customer, ...
1. How are you currently … (fill in the problem you are trying to solve)
2. What's the most annoying thing about the way you … (fill in the problem you are trying to solve)
3. Why didn't you already change it?
4. How would it work in an ideal world for you?
5. Because I am thinking about creating … (fill in your solution)
6. Would this be valuable to you? Why? Why not?
7. Are there any solutions you have tried before?
8. How would this solution fit into your current workflow or daily routine?
9. Would you be interested in participating in a beta test for my solution?
Now let's go into detail and use my example to make this easier:
So you would ask,
"Dear potential customer, how do you currently make doctor's appointments and how do you get prescriptions?"
→ The first question is important because you want to understand how customers currently deal with a particular problem.
Next, you would ask: "What is the most annoying thing about the way you make appointments and get prescriptions?"
→ Now we go straight to the potential customer's frustration.
Then we ask why they have not changed it yet.
→This is crucial because you want to understand how much value your solution brings. I mean, if they tell you - well, because I don't really care - then you're either asking the wrong people or your solution is just not that important to them.
How would it work in an ideal world for you is always one of my favorite questions to ask.
→ Because it shows what success would mean to your customers. It shows what they really want to achieve. They might say: I want to be able to make appointments easily and have my prescription sent to my home without having to go to the pharmacy.
And now - just now - in question number five - we pitch our solution.
→ I think this is one of the most important things to remember here - don't pitch your solution straight away. Understand your customers, ask them the important questions to find out what frustrates them and what they want to achieve, and then you can pitch your idea. That's the concept.
The next few questions are all about your solution. Would it even be valuable? If so, why? Why not? Are there any solutions you have tried before? How would this solution fit into your daily routine? Would you be interested in joining a beta test?
→ The key is to listen carefully. Don't pitch your idea right away, just ask the first four questions and take notes.
Of course, you can go deeper and ask some follow-up questions.
startup Worksheets & templates
So you would ask,
"Dear potential customer, how do you currently make doctor's appointments and how do you get prescriptions?"
→ The first question is important because you want to understand how customers currently deal with a particular problem.
Next, you would ask: "What is the most annoying thing about the way you make appointments and get prescriptions?"
→ Now we go straight to the potential customer's frustration.
Then we ask why they have not changed it yet.
→This is crucial because you want to understand how much value your solution brings. I mean, if they tell you - well, because I don't really care - then you're either asking the wrong people or your solution is just not that important to them.
How would it work in an ideal world for you is always one of my favorite questions to ask.
→ Because it shows what success would mean to your customers. It shows what they really want to achieve. They might say: I want to be able to make appointments easily and have my prescription sent to my home without having to go to the pharmacy.
And now - just now - in question number five - we pitch our solution.
→ I think this is one of the most important things to remember here - don't pitch your solution straight away. Understand your customers, ask them the important questions to find out what frustrates them and what they want to achieve, and then you can pitch your idea. That's the concept.
The next few questions are all about your solution. Would it even be valuable? If so, why? Why not? Are there any solutions you have tried before? How would this solution fit into your daily routine? Would you be interested in joining a beta test?
→ The key is to listen carefully. Don't pitch your idea right away, just ask the first four questions and take notes.
Of course, you can go deeper and ask some follow-up questions.
What's next
Now you know how to validate your idea. Remember, it's the most important part of building your business.
But validating your idea is only one step towards your startup's success. But hey, I've got something for you!
If you want to build a successful startup, check out my Startup Success Bundle. You will learn how to turn your startup idea into the successful, thriving business of your dreams with proven frameworks and worksheets.
Check it out!
But validating your idea is only one step towards your startup's success. But hey, I've got something for you!
If you want to build a successful startup, check out my Startup Success Bundle. You will learn how to turn your startup idea into the successful, thriving business of your dreams with proven frameworks and worksheets.
Check it out!
