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Validate Businesses with Confidence

Turn uncertainty into evidence-based decisions with our comprehensive collection of business validation experiments. Whether you're validating market demand, testing product features, or verifying your business model, find the right experiment for your needs.

Why Validate

Business validation is the systematic process of reducing risk by testing your assumptions with real evidence. Rather than building a complete product or solution based on guesswork, validation experiments allow you to:

  • Save time and money by identifying issues early

  • Make data-driven decisions instead of relying on opinions

  • Focus resources on the most promising opportunities

  • Build with confidence based on real user feedback

How to Use this Resource

1 / Identify what you need to validate

Is it desirability (do customers want it?), feasibility (can you build it?), or viability (can it be profitable?)?

2 / Consider your constraints

How much time and money can you invest in validation?

3 / Select appropriate experiments

Use our selection guide to find the right methods for your specific situation.

4 / Execute and learn

Follow our experiment instructions to gather actionable evidence

5 / Iterate based on findings

Use what you learn to refine your approach

To receive a copy of the experiment selection guide...

Experiment Database v1

Filter by Experiment Theme
Filter by Market vs Product
Filter by Data Type
Letter Of Intent

Experiment Type:

Validation

Experiment Theme:

Viability

Validation Objective:

Market

Data Type:

Qualitative

Cost

Low

Setup Time

Low

Run Time

Low

Mock Sale

Experiment Type:

Validation

Experiment Theme:

Viability

Validation Objective:

Market

Data Type:

Quantitative

Cost

Low

Setup Time

Low

Run Time

Low

Mystery Shopping

Experiment Type:

Discovery

Experiment Theme:

Desirability, Viability

Validation Objective:

Market

Data Type:

Qualitative

Cost

Low

Setup Time

Low

Run Time

Medium

Online Communities

Experiment Type:

Discovery

Experiment Theme:

Desirability, Viability

Validation Objective:

Market

Data Type:

Qualitative

Cost

Low

Setup Time

Low

Run Time

Medium

Picnic in the Graveyard

Experiment Type:

Discovery

Experiment Theme:

Desirability, Viability

Validation Objective:

Market

Data Type:

Qualitative

Cost

Low

Setup Time

Low

Run Time

Low

Presale

Experiment Type:

Validation

Experiment Theme:

Viability

Validation Objective:

Market

Data Type:

Quantitative

Cost

Low

Setup Time

Low

Run Time

Low

Product Market Fit Survey

Experiment Type:

Validation

Experiment Theme:

Desirability, Viability

Validation Objective:

Market

Data Type:

Quantitative

Cost

Low

Setup Time

Low

Run Time

Low

Sales Pitch Smoke Test

Experiment Type:

Validation

Experiment Theme:

Desirability, Viability

Validation Objective:

Market

Data Type:

Quantitative, Qualitative

Cost

Low

Setup Time

Low

Run Time

Low

Secondary Market Research

Experiment Type:

Discovery

Experiment Theme:

Desirability, Viability

Validation Objective:

Market

Data Type:

Quantitative, Qualitative

Cost

Low

Setup Time

Medium

Run Time

Medium

Smoke test

Experiment Type:

Discovery

Experiment Theme:

Desirability, Viability

Validation Objective:

Market

Data Type:

Quantitative

Cost

Low

Setup Time

Low

Run Time

Low

Life Sized Prototype

Experiment Type:

Validation

Experiment Theme:

Desirability, Feasibility

Validation Objective:

Product

Data Type:

Qualitative

Cost

Medium

Setup Time

Medium

Run Time

Medium

Multi Feature MVP

Experiment Type:

Validation

Experiment Theme:

Desirability, Feasibility, Viability

Validation Objective:

Market, Product

Data Type:

Quantitative, Qualitative

Cost

High

Setup Time

High

Run Time

Medium

Net Promoter Score

Experiment Type:

Validation

Experiment Theme:

Desirability, Viability

Validation Objective:

Market

Data Type:

Quantitative

Cost

Low

Setup Time

Low

Run Time

Low

Paper Prototype

Experiment Type:

Discovery

Experiment Theme:

Desirability

Validation Objective:

Market, Product

Data Type:

Qualitative

Cost

Low

Setup Time

Low

Run Time

Low

Pocket Smoke Test

Experiment Type:

Validation

Experiment Theme:

Desirability, Viability

Validation Objective:

Market, Product

Data Type:

Quantitative, Qualitative

Cost

Low

Setup Time

Low

Run Time

Low

Pretend to Own

Experiment Type:

Discovery

Experiment Theme:

Desirability

Validation Objective:

Market

Data Type:

Qualitative

Cost

Low

Setup Time

Low

Run Time

Low

Referral Program

Experiment Type:

Discovery

Experiment Theme:

Viability

Validation Objective:

Market

Data Type:

Quantitative

Cost

Low

Setup Time

Medium

Run Time

Medium

Scorecards

Experiment Type:

Discovery

Experiment Theme:

Desirability, Viability

Validation Objective:

Market, Product

Data Type:

Quantitative

Cost

Low

Setup Time

Low

Run Time

Low

Simple Landing Page

Experiment Type:

Validation

Experiment Theme:

Desirability

Validation Objective:

Market, Product

Data Type:

Quantitative

Cost

Low

Setup Time

Low

Run Time

Low

Social Ad Campaign

Experiment Type:

Discovery

Experiment Theme:

Desirability, Viability

Validation Objective:

Market

Data Type:

Quantitative

Cost

Low

Setup Time

Low

Run Time

Low

Link Tracking

Experiment Type:

Discovery

Experiment Theme:

Desirability

Validation Objective:

Market, Product

Data Type:

Quantitative

Cost

Low

Setup Time

Low

Run Time

Low

Mystery Customer Support

Experiment Type:

Discovery

Experiment Theme:

Desirability, Viability

Validation Objective:

Market

Data Type:

Qualitative

Cost

Low

Setup Time

Low

Run Time

Low

Off-Brand Testing

Experiment Type:

Discovery

Experiment Theme:

Desirability, Viability

Validation Objective:

Market

Data Type:

Quantitative, Qualitative

Cost

Medium

Setup Time

Medium

Run Time

Low

Partner & Supplier Interviews

Experiment Type:

Discovery

Experiment Theme:

Feasibility, Viability

Validation Objective:

Market, Product

Data Type:

Qualitative

Cost

Low

Setup Time

Low

Run Time

Low

Pop-up Store

Experiment Type:

Validation

Experiment Theme:

Desirability, Viability

Validation Objective:

Market

Data Type:

Quantitative, Qualitative

Cost

High

Setup Time

Medium

Run Time

Low

Product Box

Experiment Type:

Discovery

Experiment Theme:

Desirability

Validation Objective:

Market

Data Type:

Qualitative

Cost

Low

Setup Time

Low

Run Time

Low

Sales Force Feedback

Experiment Type:

Discovery

Experiment Theme:

Desirability, Viability

Validation Objective:

Market

Data Type:

Qualitative

Cost

Low

Setup Time

Low

Run Time

Low

Search Trend Analysis

Experiment Type:

Discovery

Experiment Theme:

Desirability

Validation Objective:

Market

Data Type:

Quantitative

Cost

Low

Setup Time

Low

Run Time

Low

Single Feature MVP

Experiment Type:

Validation

Experiment Theme:

Desirability, Feasibility

Validation Objective:

Market, Product

Data Type:

Quantitative, Qualitative

Cost

Medium

Setup Time

Medium

Run Time

Medium

Solution Interview

Experiment Type:

Discovery

Experiment Theme:

Desirability, Viability

Validation Objective:

Market, Product

Data Type:

Qualitative

Cost

Low

Setup Time

Low

Run Time

Low

Sources for v1: The Real Startup Playbook by Kromatic, Testing Business Ideas by Osterwalder, Lean Validation Experiments by Bundl

Contributors: be the first

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