Idea Validation by Self Assessment. Any StartUp that has a Million Dollar Idea, first and foremost needs to Validate it by self assessment,. This Deck will help an Entrepreneur understand "How to Validate an Idea by Self Assessment".

1. Idea Validation
By Self Assessment
Presented By:

2. Million Dollar Idea!
First Question to ponder on getting the Million Dollar Idea
•Whether is it worth, investing the time, money and efforts?
Second Question to ponder on getting the Million Dollar Idea
•What PROBLEM is your idea trying to solve?

3. What we will Learn Today?
• WHAT of a problem
• WHO of the problem
• HOW to identify and validate the problem

4. WHAT of a Problem
A Problem is any deviation from Standard or Ideal situation.
•There are three Stages that need to be identified for each Problem:
• Ideal State (Preferred condition)
• Current State (Existing condition)
• Event that triggers the states
Example of Flipkart
• Ideal State – Easy Purchase, Quick Payment, Various Choices (at one location)
• Current State – People had to visit Shops or Malls, Payment Ques, Limited Choice
(you were presented only those items or brands that the Shop or Mall wanted you to
have depending on their Profit calculations)
• Event that triggers the states – Unsatisfied Customers

5. WHAT of a Problem
We defined WHAT of a Problem, now dig into it and break it down
further.
WHAT can be divided further based on the Intensity of the problem
(deviation from the Ideal State) and Frequency (number of
occurrences)
• Common problems
• Key Problems
• Routine Problems
• Non-Routine Problems

6. WHAT of a Problem
Lets us understand each based on our Flipkart Example.
• Common problems - We don’t mind these Problems as they are in Tolerance Level.
Eg- Going to a Shop or Mall
• Key Problems - We do mind these Problems, we think about them and we hope that
a solution existed for solving them. Eg. Variety in Color, Size & Brand
• Routine Problems - These problems we experience frequently and have become a
habit. Eg- Payment Que
• Non-Routine Problems - These problems we experience rarely and these aren’t in
our Habit. Eg- Exchange for exact same in different Size or Color

7. Who of the Problem
• Current and Ideal states depends on various parameters such as WHO of the person, WHAT of
his/her ability, beliefs etc. These parameters can be clubbed as Standard Customer Market
Segmentation Categories as shown below.
Source: https://builtvisible.com/understanding-customers-market-segmentation/

8. Validating WHAT and WHO of the
Problem
We defined the WHAT and WHO of the problem, now lets validate them.
Follow these steps for Market Segmentation and Problem Validation:
•WHO can be you, me, anyone. Profile the identified WHO based on the
Customer Segmentation (previous slide).
•The profiling should be precise and focused, as this is the first step where
you identify the target audience (explained in next slide).
•The list should be of minimum 70–80 names, one can find people from
LinkedIn or by referrals from known people.
•Contact each over Email, Phone or through social media.
•Ask them questions that will define your Product that is solving a Problem.
•Use free online services like Survey Monkey or Google Forms for creating
the surveys.

9. Target Market
Target Market is the group of customers that you decided will be your Users. A well-defined target market is
the basis for identifying the Marketing Strategy. Product Features, Pricing, Promotion, and Location. It is
proven that a clear definition of the target market brings in success in-variably.
The target market is the group of people considered most likely to buy a product or service. These group share
similar characteristics, like Age, Location, Income and Lifestyle.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_market/

10. What Information to Extract?
Extract the following information from your target audience during the
Survey. Put your identified problem in front of them and ask the questions.
•Prepare a questionnaire so as you can get all or most possible information on the
Customer Segmentation- more the better. This will give you the perspective of the
Customer Persona.
•Ask His/Her daily schedule.
•WHAT are the problems they face?
•HOW key are those (Intensity)?
•WHY and WHEN do they arise (Event)?
•HOW often do they arise (Frequency)?
•Also ask HOW they solve these, WHAT they expect as the solution (Ideal State).

11. Analyzing the Survey
A minimum of 30–40 responses (out of 70-80) should be with you
before you sit to analyze. If you get more responses it would be more
helpful. with you. Perform following steps for analysis.
•ROWS  Responses with problems & COLUMNS  Validations and Profile of the person.
•Group similar problems together and mention the number for whom it is a key problem,
take the average of frequency.
•Measure whether it is a key problem for at least 50% people.
•If not, either the problem that you are trying to solve is not a key problem or the target
audience that you selected is wrong.
•You need to Pivot by either checking on other key problems or by changing the Customer
segmentation and re-perform the entire survey.
•Important: Check the expectations of your target audience from the result (Ideal State).

12. Conclusion
You need to be able to identify the Event that triggers the
Problem, and evaluate the Expectations from the result of the
event, the Problem itself and the Target audience.
You should than opt for taking the Idea Validation to people
outside your peer group- people who will be your actual users and
Early Adopters of your Product. Till you do not validate with the
Early Adopters, your product still has chances of not taking off as
you would expect it to.

13. THANKS
Contact us for Idea Validation Consultations
Visit: www.veloztechform.com
Drop a mail: info@veloztechform.com
Contact: +91 78 788 78881 / 78 200 78881