Entrepreneurs are meant to identify problems faced by people, think up potential solutions, and proceed to build a product. But, more often than not, they fail to think about an integral part of building a business, that is, customer validation.

As an entrepreneur, your instincts might drive you to focus and work on what’s within your control. Developing and building a product from the ground-up is an important job that demands attention. But, we must implore you to not get caught up in the passion for building a product so much that you lose sight of the target customer’s needs.

In this article, we’ll help you understand why you must validate your startup idea before getting into building a product. We’ll also guide you through the steps you need to take to validate your startup idea.

So, let’s get into it!

Why should you validate your Startup idea before building a product?
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The importance of customer validation and startup validation is often trifled by entrepreneurs. They’re so focused on developing and launching the MVP, that nothing seems more important than that! They dream about it and prioritize it as an end that they have to reach. But, seldom do they stop to consider whether the potential customers need the product or are willing to pay for it or not.

The trickiest part about building a product is knowing what to build, to begin with. Customer validation exercises can be awkward, uncomfortable, and time-consuming. But, neglecting this important process can be disastrous. It is a sad reality that most startups fail, and out of those, most fail because their solution doesn’t solve a real problem face by customers.

Start the customer and idea validation process by researching and making efforts to become an expert in your field. You must not guess or assume you know what your potential customers want. You have to start by assuming that you don’t know anything and work your way to gain a deep understanding.

How can you gain this knowledge and understanding of your customers’ wants and desires? You can interview thought-leaders in your niche. Read up on everything you can find on the topic, making sure to include all the authoritative voices. Study all the relevant market researches you can find on the internet. Discuss with your peers and ask for their feedback on your theories. Think about and prepare for all the questions you might get from potential investors about the problem you’re trying to address. Pay close attention to the advice of those who have failed before you. Keep your mind open at all times, even to the possibility that your original hunch was wrong.