Do's en don'ts

Is your idea or concept likely to succeed? Do you want to know if it can form the basis for your own business?

Test your idea: what works better and what does not?

Do not

⛔ Create prototype -> search for financing -> team recruitment -> market exploration

The wrong way to test out your idea is to start out by making a prototype of your product or service. It is often very tempting to at first make a demo or prototype that you can share with family, friends, or investors. But, you would, of course, need to invest (a lot of) money, while you do not really know whether the concept would be successful.

Do

 ✅ Explore market -> build 'prototype' -> assemble the right team -> search for financing

The success of your solution (product or service) is determined by the users. So, check as often as possible whether what you are developing is in line with the needs of your users. To be successful in this regard, you first need to do research to determine your "market": who are the users, what are their needs, what opportunities still exist, ... 

Test your idea: first steps

Get initial feedback as soon as possible

If you just want to find out whether it is worth investing more time (and money) into your idea, you can make an appeal to your immediate circle of friends, or you could connect to social media (crowdsourcing). Ask for specific feedback on your - clearly defined - concept: what are the disadvantages, would they pay for it, and how much? ... Be clear about what problem you want to solve!
You can also test your ideas with experts in the field by discussing your product or service with them.

Listen to your prospective client

Because they don’t yet have any customers, start-ups fail all too often while developing their product, assuming that potential customers see a solution to their problem in it. Realize, however, that you are using a number of assumptions as a departure point for the development of your concept. Therefore, it is extremely important to test whether those assumptions are correct at the beginning of the project. This can be achieved through discussions with customers and by doing field work! In this regard, groups on social networks can provide a solution.