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Eight reusable validation strategies.

Every template is a strategy the Mission generator can pull into a unified plan. Each one ships with copy-paste scripts, success/failure signals, and the common mistakes founders make running it.

Template

Problem interview

Find out whether the problem you have named is real, recent, and acute — and whether the prospect already spends time or money working around it.

Use when

Your primary risk is market demand, problem definition, or founder-fit (you are not the user). You can reach 5 ICP-matched people in 7 days.

Don't use when

Your primary risk is build complexity, distribution channel, or monetization. Run a different template — interviews won't answer those questions.

4 steps

  1. Write a one-sentence problem statement(~30 minutes)
  2. Recruit 5 ICP-matched people(~240 minutes)
  3. Run five 30-minute interviews(~180 minutes)
  4. Synthesize and decide(~90 minutes)

Common mistakes

  • Asking 'would you use this?' — that is a sales question, not a discovery question. Use 'tell me about the last time' instead.
  • Pitching your solution in the first 10 minutes — the founder learns nothing about the buyer's reality.
  • Recruiting friends-of-friends who would be polite. They will say yes to anything.

Template

Distribution channel test

Find out whether the channel you have chosen actually reaches ICP-matched people at a cost your pricing can support — before you scale spend on it.

Use when

Your primary risk is distribution / acquisition channel. You can pick one channel and ship 5-10 artifacts there in 5 days.

Don't use when

You do not know your ICP yet. Start with a problem interview — without an ICP, you cannot tell whether a channel reaches them.

4 steps

  1. Pick ONE channel(~45 minutes)
  2. Ship 5–10 artifacts in 5 days(~360 minutes)
  3. DM 10 people who engaged(~120 minutes)
  4. Compute cost per qualified conversation(~30 minutes)

Common mistakes

  • Posting in the channel but never replying to comments. The conversation IS the channel — silent posters get archived.
  • Pitching in the artifact instead of teaching. Mods delete, users downvote.
  • Switching channels after 2 days of silence. Every channel has a 1-2 week warmup before replies start.

Template

Pricing / willingness-to-pay test

Replace your assumed price with a price band that real buyers actually agree to pay today — not a number you picked from comparable products.

Use when

Your primary risk is monetization. You have at least 20 ICP-matched people who have expressed interest.

Don't use when

You have not validated the problem yet. Pricing tests with people who don't have the problem produce polite yeses that vanish at checkout.

4 steps

  1. Pick ONE concrete price(~30 minutes)
  2. Send 20 personal pricing asks(~240 minutes)
  3. Send the real payment link(~60 minutes)
  4. Record objections verbatim(~60 minutes)

Common mistakes

  • Asking 'would you pay?' instead of 'will you pay today?'. The first measures intent; the second measures wallet.
  • Sending a payment link to everyone who said 'maybe'. Maybe is no.
  • Treating the yes-rate as the verdict. Polite yes ≠ buyer. Only the payment-link conversion counts.

Template

Landing page test

Measure real signup intent against a paid-traffic or organic-reach budget before committing engineering time to the product itself.

Use when

You can build a one-page site in an afternoon and have a reachable channel to drive traffic from.

Don't use when

You have not validated the problem. Without a clear ICP, the page converts nobody and you learn nothing.

4 steps

  1. Write the one-sentence value prop(~60 minutes)
  2. Ship a one-page site in an afternoon(~240 minutes)
  3. Drive 200–500 targeted visitors in 5 days(~300 minutes)
  4. Measure signup conversion and decide(~30 minutes)

Common mistakes

  • Building a beautiful site with 8 sections. The one-screen version converts better. Ship the 1-pager.
  • Driving traffic from 3 channels at once. You cannot tell which channel worked. Pick one.
  • Adding a discount or free-tier CTA. You will learn nothing about real willingness to engage.

Template

Pre-order / deposit test

Convert intent into a real financial commitment BEFORE you build — so the only thing standing between you and your first customer is engineering, not demand.

Use when

You have validated the problem and want to know who will pay before you ship. Best when the product is small enough to deliver in 4 weeks.

Don't use when

You have not validated the problem yet. Pre-orders with no problem validation produce refunds, not customers.

4 steps

  1. Decide on the pre-order mechanics(~60 minutes)
  2. Build the order page(~240 minutes)
  3. Reach 30 ICP-matched people with the offer(~360 minutes)
  4. Decide: build or refund(~60 minutes)

Common mistakes

  • Making the offer non-refundable. The no-refund policy scares off the polite yeses, which is the data you actually need.
  • Promising a delivery date you cannot hit. The refund clock starts at the promise.
  • Counting newsletter signups as pre-orders. They are not. A deposit is a deposit.

Template

Prototype / concierge MVP test

Find out whether the smallest possible end-to-end slice of your MVP can be delivered in under a week using manual work for everything that is not the critical step.

Use when

Your primary risk is build complexity or solution fit. You can ship a manual / no-code version of the workflow in 5 days.

Don't use when

The product IS the workflow (e.g. a physical product, a hardware device). Use a different template.

4 steps

  1. Draw the workflow on paper(~60 minutes)
  2. Build the manual slice in 5 days(~1800 minutes)
  3. Ship to 3–5 users and watch them use it(~240 minutes)
  4. Decide what to actually automate(~60 minutes)

Common mistakes

  • Trying to ship the whole product, not the slice. The slice is the experiment.
  • Skipping the 'watch them use it' step. If you cannot watch, you cannot see where they actually get stuck.
  • Recruiting friends as test users. They will be polite. Recruit strangers from your ICP channel.

Template

Concierge MVP test

Deliver the outcome manually to 5 real users, in person or over Zoom, while pretending the product already exists. Learn what the product actually needs to do.

Use when

The product's value is in the outcome, not the workflow. You can deliver the outcome manually for 5 users in 7 days.

Don't use when

The product IS the workflow (e.g. a tool with no human-deliverable equivalent). Use the prototype test instead.

4 steps

  1. Define the outcome you will deliver manually(~60 minutes)
  2. Recruit 5 ICP-matched users(~240 minutes)
  3. Deliver the outcome to all 5(~1200 minutes)
  4. Identify the automation candidates(~60 minutes)

Common mistakes

  • Skipping the 'no strings' framing. The moment it sounds like a sales pitch, the feedback turns polite.
  • Delivering via email only. You learn nothing about the parts that take thinking. Get on a call.
  • Trying to charge for the concierge service. Free service = honest feedback. Paid service = sales conversation.

Template

Competitor switching test

Find out whether the specific gap you have identified between the top competitors is something real buyers also see — and would switch for.

Use when

Your primary risk is competition. You can identify the top 3 incumbents and reach 10 of their paying customers.

Don't use when

You have not validated the problem. Buyers will not switch for a competitor wedge if they don't have the problem yet.

4 steps

  1. Identify the top 3 incumbents(~360 minutes)
  2. Write a one-page wedge artifact(~240 minutes)
  3. Show to 10 incumbent customers(~300 minutes)
  4. Decide: keep the wedge or re-design(~60 minutes)

Common mistakes

  • Pitching your product instead of asking what would make them switch. The question is the experiment.
  • Recruiting from the incumbent's fans instead of their customers. Fans are biased toward the incumbent.
  • Letting the founder describe the wedge in their words. Buyers describe it in theirs — measure the overlap.