There is a specific kind of excitement that comes with a new business idea. You can picture the logo. You have opinions about the packaging. You have already told two friends, and they were very supportive, which is what friends are for.
None of that tells you whether the idea solves a problem a stranger will pay to fix.
The good news: you can get a first answer in about 20 minutes, with a pencil, before you spend a dollar.
Why this check matters
Harvard Business School professor Tom Eisenmann studied why new ventures stall. In his Harvard Business Review article “Why Start-ups Fail,” one pattern he describes is the “false start”: founders rush to launch before they have researched what customers need. They build first and ask later.
Steve Blank, one of the people behind the lean start-up movement, made the same point in HBR in 2013: most ideas are guesses until you test them with the people you hope will buy.
A 20-minute check is not a full test. It is the step that tells you what to test.
At a glance
The 20-minute real-problem check
Five minutes each. One page. Pencil is fine.
- ProblemWhat goes wrong, in one sentence?
- PersonWho has it most often?
- WorkaroundWhat do they do about it now?
- CostWhat does it cost them in time, money, or stress?
Question 1: What is the problem?
Write it in one sentence, the way a customer would say it to a friend. Not “Busy parents lack access to curated nutritional solutions.” More like “I have no idea what to make for dinner and it is already 5:45.”
If you cannot write it that way, you may be describing your solution instead of their problem. That is common, and it is worth fixing now.
Question 2: Who has it most?
“Everyone” is not a person. Pick one: a specific type of customer in a specific situation. A new dog owner in an apartment with no yard. A salon owner who does her own booking between clients. A college student selling vintage clothes on weekends.
The more specific you are, the easier it becomes to find this person and talk to them.
Question 3: What do they do about it now?
This is the question most people skip, and it is the most useful. If your person already has a workaround, like a spreadsheet, a group text, a cousin who helps, or a clunky app they complain about, the problem is real. They are spending effort on it.
If they do nothing about it, be careful. The problem may be mildly annoying rather than worth paying to fix.
A workaround also tells you what you are up against. Your idea does not have to be perfect. It has to be clearly better than what they are doing now.
Question 4: What does it cost them?
Estimate the cost in time, money, stress, or missed opportunity. “I lose about two hours a week chasing invoices” is a cost. “I lost a client because I missed their message” is a cost.
The bigger and more frequent the cost, the more room there is for your idea. If the cost is small and rare, the idea may still work, but your price will need to be small too.
What to do with your answers
You now have a one-page problem statement. It is still a guess, but it is a specific guess, which means you can check it.
Your next step: find two real people who match Question 2 and ask them about the last time the problem happened. Ask what they did, not what they would do. Past behavior is more reliable than predictions, a point Clayton Christensen and colleagues make in their work on the “jobs” customers hire products to do.
Apply it
Your 20-minute check
- Minutes 1–5: Write the problem in one sentence a customer would say out loud.
- Minutes 6–10: Describe one specific person who has it. Give them a name and a Tuesday.
- Minutes 11–15: List what they do about it today, even if it is clumsy.
- Minutes 16–20: Estimate what the problem costs them each month.
- Then: Find two real people who match your description and ask about the last time it happened.
Tip: print this page or take a screenshot of this checklist to use later.
If you would like to practice this with feedback, the Find the Real Problem workshop walks through the same four questions on your own idea, out loud, with other people doing the same. You can take it in a scheduled group, in a private session, or as part of ongoing coaching.
Want a different angle? StrideForward looks at what happens when an established business keeps solving the wrong problem, and Thrive Vibes shares a field exercise for finding problems worth solving when you leave your routine.
Common questions
How do I validate a business idea quickly?
Start with four questions: What is the problem, in the customer’s words? Who has it most? What do they do about it now? What does it cost them? Then talk to two real people who match your description and ask about the last time the problem happened.
What is a customer workaround and why does it matter?
A workaround is what people do today to deal with a problem, such as a spreadsheet, a group text, or a clunky app. A workaround shows the problem is real enough that people spend effort on it, and it shows what your idea needs to beat.
Should I ask friends and family if my business idea is good?
Friends and family are supportive, which makes them unreliable judges of demand. Ask people who match your target customer about past behavior instead of asking whether they like your idea.
Is 20 minutes enough to validate an idea?
No. Twenty minutes gives you a specific problem statement you can test. Real validation comes from conversations with potential customers and small tests, such as a pre-order or a pilot.
Sources and further reading
- Tom Eisenmann, “Why Start-ups Fail,” Harvard Business Review, May–June 2021
- Steve Blank, “Why the Lean Start-Up Changes Everything,” Harvard Business Review, May 2013
- Clayton M. Christensen, Taddy Hall, Karen Dillon, and David S. Duncan, “Know Your Customers’ ‘Jobs to Be Done,’” Harvard Business Review, September 2016
- U.S. Small Business Administration, “Free small business counseling and local mentoring”
