Idea and Validation
Reality gets a vote before you build.
Stage intro
You have an idea now. Before you build anything, you find out if it is real. This is the stage most ideas should die in, and that is a gift. It is far cheaper to kill a weak idea in a conversation this week than after six months of building.
Two chapters: one sends you to talk to real people who have the problem, so reality gets a vote before you spend a single day building, and one shrinks the idea down to the smallest thing you could sell, so you find out fast whether anyone will pay.
Everything in this stage is conversation. You are not taking anyone's money yet, so there is no paperwork to worry about, wherever you live.
You are ready to leave this stage when five real people with the problem have told you how they deal with it today, and you can name the small first thing you would sell them.
Chapter 1
Talk to People Before You Build
Test your idea in real conversations before you build, so reality kills the weak ideas cheaply and points you at the strong ones.
Chapter 2
Scope Your Smallest First Offer
Shrink the idea to the smallest thing someone would pay for next month, so you get proof fast instead of running out of time.
Tailored review
Get the playbook tailored to your business.
Tell us what you run and what you want to fix. Alistair will read it personally and send you a tailored version of the playbook for your specific situation. Free, no commitment, 48-hour turnaround.
Finished this part?
Continue to Build With AI.
Apply what you learned: Draft your first SOP · Run the Stress Test