pitch, product-market-fit, minimum-viable-product, valueI have an idea for an app, so I’ve been asking around and surveying people for about a month; feedback is very positive so far. this week our MVP will be finished and we wanna apply for an accelerator program. Part of the pitch deck talks about validation, will the interviews and surveys count as a form of validation prior to launching the MVP?
Yes, to an extent. You can build a landing page or a marketing site. Include a way to sign up / request preview access, etc. You can use a site like SquareSpace, or Unbounce, or take your pick to build your landing page/site.
Drive traffic to that site and see if people actually sign up. The people who sign up (or don’t) and the rate of signup become your data points.
I have seen it done in diverse circumstances. Examples include SAAS businesses, T-shirt makers, and iOT companies. I have used it myself to gauge early market interest in a few ideas. The only caveat is to be clear on your pages that people are requesting early access once the product is available; i.e., don’t be misleading.
One start-up I know had a device they were building, and when a respected journalist wanted to run a story on the startup (pre-MVP) they put up a microsite to take pre-orders. They got hundreds.
I have seen a few good anecdotes from Noah Kagen over at AppSumo.com, and Tim Ferris of the Four Hour Work Week on his blog.
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