How to validate your intuitive business idea with GV's Research Sprint?

SEMINAR

In April, I was invited to conduct a webinar on 'how to conduct market research for business opportunities'.

Since many aspiring founders kept asking me how to validate a business idea, I decided to share my presentation deck (with step-by-step Research Sprint guide) and curated resources to help you validate your intuitive business idea, to check if it is feasible to work in the real world or not.

In other words, to gauge the business viability and market acceptance of your idea by your target audience or customer segments.

*Disclaimer: Numerous excerpts were paraphrased from the books and articles as cited below in my presentation deck for your further reading.

Author

Paul Lee, Co-founder & CEO, Flipidea

Citation and republishing

Flipidea's articles and reports may be republished in accordance with our Citation Policy and Terms of Service.

References

Bruck, J. (2013). How we built a research lab for mobile app testing in just a few hours. Retrieved 22 August 2020, from https://library.gv.com/how-we-built-a-research-lab-for-mobile-app-testing-in-just-a-few-hours-6df8866d0fc6

Business Dictionary. (n.d.). Validation. In BusinessDictionary.com dictionary. Retrieved 22 August 2020, from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/validation.html

Bygrave, W. D., & Zacharakis, A. (2014). Entrepreneurship, 3rd Edition. Retrieved 18 November 2019, from https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/entrepreneurship-3rd-edition/9781118582893/

Cardamone, M. (2017). Benchmarks in SaaS for Seed and Series A Rounds in 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2020, from https://www.saastr.com/benchmarks-in-saas-for-seed-and-series-a-rounds/

Collins Dictionary. (n.d.). Validation. In CollinsDictionary.com dictionary. Retrieved 22 August 2020, from https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/validate

Columbus, L. (2020). How Intelligent Pricing Can Help Save Your Company In A Pandemic. Retrieved 22 August 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2020/04/05/how-intelligent-pricing-can-help-save-your-company-in-a-pandemic

Cambridge Dictionary. Validation. In Dictionary.cambridge.org dictionary. Retrieved 22 August 2020, from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/validation

Carroccio, B., & Chen, A. (2020). The a16z Marketplace 100. Retrieved 22 August 2020, from https://a16z.com/2020/02/18/marketplace-100/

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan. (n.d.). Lean Startup, the Business Model Canvas, and Market Analysis [PDF document]. Retrieved from Lecture Notes Online Website: http://web.eecs.umich.edu/~sugih/courses/eecs441/w17/12-BMC.pdf

Flipidea. (2019). Idea Validation Tool (Idea Checker). Retrieved 22 August 2020, from https://www.flipidea.co/idea-validation

Flipidea [@flipidea_ai]. (2020). The Benchmarks of Tier-1 VCs for SaaS startup fundraising by Point Nine Capital [Tweet]. Twitter. Retrieved 22 August 2020, from https://twitter.com/Flipidea_AI/status/1280344866518523904?s=20

Flipidea Viewpoints. (2020). Descriptive analysis: why did 500 companies shut down?. Retrieved 22 August 2020, from https://viewpoints.flipidea.co/why-did-500-startups-shut-down/

Flipidea Viewpoints. (2019). Poor Product-Market Fit. In Viewpoints.Flipidea.co glossary of business failures. Retrieved 22 August 2020, from https://viewpoints.flipidea.co/poor-product-market-fit/

Google Ventures. (2014). Sample: Craiglist ad [PNG document]. Retrieved from Google Ventures Resource Library Website: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fmbjfm7bneqj3a4/Google-Ventures-Research-Sprint-Sample-Craigslist-ad.png

Google Ventures. (2014). Sample: Recruiting Screener [PNG document]. Retrieved from Google Ventures Resource Library Website: https://www.dropbox.com/s/la2gwjxfoiq0ozh/Google-Ventures-Research-Sprint-Sample-recruiting-screener.png

Google Ventures. (2014). Sample: Short Questionnaire [Google Forms]. Retrieved from Google Ventures Resource Library Website: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf_wu6vn31iV9TMKam3ld5UEic-4NsmoCjXe6MwsIh5AVWz-w/viewform

Google Ventures. (2014). Worksheet: Writing a Recruiting Screener [PDF document]. Retrieved from Google Ventures Resource Library Website: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5kmofdms00sbh84/Google-Ventures-Research-Sprint-Screener-Worksheet.pdf

Knapp, J. (2016). How to Test Prototypes with Customers: The Five-Act Interview. Retrieved 22 August 2020, from https://library.gv.com/how-to-test-prototypes-with-customers-the-five-act-interview-80305d98c407

Knapp, J. (2016). Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days. New York, USA: Simon & Schuster.

Kupor, S. (2019). Secrets of Sand Hill Road: Venture Capital and How to Get it. New York, USA: Portfolio.

Margolis, M. (2015). Finding "hard to find" customers for research. Retrieved 22 August 2020, from https://library.gv.com/finding-hard-to-find-customers-for-research-7847af187955

Margolis, M. (2012). Get better data from user studies: 16 interviewing tips. Retrieved 22 August 2020, from https://library.gv.com/get-better-data-from-user-studies-16-interviewing-tips-328d305c3e37

Margolis, M. (2017). How to Build Better Rapport For Better Research Interviews. Retrieved 22 August 2020, from https://library.gv.com/how-to-build-better-rapport-for-better-research-interviews-869952b6a71d

Margolis, M. (2012). How to find great participants for your user study. Retrieved 22 August 2020, from https://library.gv.com/how-to-find-great-participants-for-your-user-study-da20f98dad9e

Margolis, M. (2014). No more "no shows" - how to make sure your research participants actually show up. Retrieved 22 August 2020, from https://library.gv.com/no-more-no-shows-how-to-make-sure-your-research-participants-actually-show-up-598219b14549

Margolis, M. (2012). Rapid user research: how to survey 400 users and interview 10 in three days. Retrieved 22 August 2020, from https://library.gv.com/rapid-user-research-how-to-survey-400-users-and-interview-10-in-three-days-11e9b0a9475

Margolis, M. (2014). The GV research sprint: a 4-day process for answering important startup questions. Retrieved 22 August 2020, from https://library.gv.com/the-gv-research-sprint-a-4-day-process-for-answering-important-startup-questions-97279b532b25

Mulligan, B. (2014). How to Run Live User Testing, Part 3: The Debrief. Retrieved 22 August 2020, from https://medium.com/user-experience-researche/how-to-run-live-user-testing-part-3-the-debrief-d057dbe3a979

Nielsen, J. (2000). Why You Only Need to Test with 5 Users. Retrieved 22 August 2020, from https://www.nngroup.com/articles/why-you-only-need-to-test-with-5-users/

Pernice, K. (2018). User Interviews: How, When, and Why to Conduct Them. Retrieved 22 August 2020, from https://www.nngroup.com/articles/user-interviews/

Sequoia Capital. (2020). The Matrix for COVID-19. Retrieved 22 August 2020, from https://medium.com/sequoia-capital/the-matrix-for-covid-19-c25bd5195f46

Yuen, H. (2017). VC Math. Retrieved 22 August 2020, from https://hackernoon.com/vc-math-2848971a34a0

Zeratsky, J. (2012). GV guide to research. Retrieved 22 August 2020, from https://library.gv.com/gv-guide-to-research-847cfb08fcef

By invitation, Paul occasionally conducts guest lectures and seminars on the topics of business management, tech innovation, startups, entrepreneurship, venture capital, and financial investment.

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Last edited on 21 October 2022.