Startup validation and customer discovery
Validation is the work of finding out whether a specific group of people has a problem painful enough to act on, before you spend months building. It is not asking friends whether they like the idea. It is watching what people already do: the workarounds they rely on, the money and time they spend, and whether they take a small step when you offer a better way. The entries below cover the methods founders use most, from customer interviews and waitlists to product-market fit surveys, and the signals that tell you when to keep going, narrow the idea or stop. Read them in order if you are starting out, or jump to the one that matches the decision in front of you.
Validation & customer discovery: terms and guides
- Startup Idea Validation Tools Compared (2026)
- Startup Idea Validation Tools: What to Use at Each Step
- How to Validate a Startup Idea Before You Build
- Customer Interview Questions That Reveal Real Demand
- Waitlist or MVP: Which Should You Build First?
- Signs Your Startup Idea Is Good (and When to Drop It)
- Product-Market Fit Survey Questions for Early Startups