The test
Three questions that
separate good ideas from bad ones.
Most founders fall in love with their idea before testing it. That emotional attachment leads to months of building and thousands of pounds spent on a product nobody wants. These three questions — answered honestly — prevent that.
Is the problem real?
Not theoretically real — actually real. Do specific people experience this problem regularly? Do they describe it with frustration? Have they tried to solve it themselves with workarounds, spreadsheets, or competing products? If the answer is no, the problem is not painful enough.
Will people pay for a solution?
Interest is not the same as willingness to pay. Lots of people will say "that sounds useful" and never open their wallet. The test is not whether people like the idea — it is whether they would pay £20, £50, or £200 per month for it today.
Can you build the core in 8 weeks?
If the idea requires 50 features, three user types, and six integrations to deliver any value at all — it is not an MVP idea. It is a platform idea that needs to be narrowed. A good MVP idea has a clear core that can be built and tested quickly.
Refining the idea
From broad idea to
buildable MVP.
Most ideas start broad. The work is narrowing them until they are specific enough to build, test, and learn from in 8 weeks.
01
Narrow the user
"Small businesses" is not a user. "Solo freelance designers in the UK billing £40k–£80k" is a user. The narrower your user definition, the sharper your product will be. You can always expand later — after you have validated the core.
02
Narrow the problem
Your user has many problems. Pick one — the most painful, the most frequent, the one they would pay the most to solve. That is your MVP. The other problems are version two.
03
Narrow the solution
There are many ways to solve the problem. Pick the simplest one that delivers real value. Not the most elegant, not the most comprehensive — the simplest. The MVP tests whether the solution direction is right, not whether every detail is perfect.
04
Define the hypothesis
Write one sentence: "We believe [user] will [action] because [reason]." If you cannot write this sentence clearly, the idea needs more refinement. If you can, you are ready to scope the MVP.
05
Scope and build
Map the critical path. Set the feature boundary. Choose the tech stack. Build in 8 weeks. Launch to real users. The idea becomes a product — and the product tells you whether the idea was right.
Validation
How to validate your MVP idea.
Validation is not asking friends whether your idea is good. Friends lie — politely, but they lie. Validation is structured conversations with people who have the problem you want to solve.
- Talk to 10–20 potential users who are not friends or family
- Ask about their problem, not your solution — "Tell me about the last time you struggled with X"
- Look for emotional responses — frustration, detail, specificity. If they shrug, the problem is not painful enough.
- Ask what they currently use — workarounds indicate a gap in the market
- Ask what they would pay — "If this existed today, would you pay £30/month?" The answer matters more than their enthusiasm for the concept
- Look for patterns — if 7 out of 10 people describe the same problem the same way, you have something
Only after validation should you start scoping the MVP. The conversations will shape every product decision — which features matter, which language to use, what the onboarding should explain. Read our full idea to MVP guide for the complete process.
Warning signs
Red flags in MVP ideas.
These patterns do not necessarily mean the idea is bad — but they mean it needs more work before it is ready to build:
- "It is like Uber but for X" — analogy-based ideas often lack a clear understanding of the specific problem being solved
- No specific user — "everyone could use this" means nobody will use this. Narrow the user.
- Requires network effects to work — if the product has no value without thousands of users, the MVP cannot validate it. Find a way to deliver value with 10 users.
- The solution looking for a problem — you built a cool technology and now you are trying to find someone who needs it. Start with the problem instead.
- Cannot be described in one sentence — if the idea needs five minutes to explain, it is too broad for an MVP. Simplify until the hypothesis fits in one sentence.
- Requires regulatory approval — healthcare, finance, insurance ideas that need compliance before users can touch the product. The MVP timeline extends significantly.
Ready to build
When your MVP idea is ready to build.
Your idea is ready to become an MVP when you can answer all of these:
- You can name a specific type of person who has the problem
- You have talked to at least 10 of them and confirmed the problem is real and painful
- You can write a one-sentence hypothesis: "We believe [user] will [action] because [reason]"
- You can describe the core workflow in 5 steps or fewer
- You know what success looks like — specific numbers for signups, activation, conversion
- You are willing to launch with fewer features than you want — because validation matters more than completeness
If you can tick all six, you are ready to build your MVP. If you cannot, the scoping call is the right place to start — we will help you get there.
FAQ
Questions people usually have before the next step feels obvious.
How do I know if my idea is good?
A good MVP idea solves a real problem for a specific user who is willing to pay. Validate by talking to 10–20 potential users about the problem — not the solution.
How do I validate an MVP idea?
Talk to potential users. Look for emotional responses, existing workarounds, and willingness to pay. If the problem is real and painful, build the MVP to test the solution.
What makes a good MVP idea?
Specific problem, defined user, clear value proposition, plausible commercial model, and narrow enough to build in 8 weeks.
How do I go from idea to product?
Validate → define hypothesis → scope → build in 8 weeks → launch → measure. At Wall & Fifth, from £16,000.
Can you help refine my idea?
Yes. The scoping phase in weeks 1–2 is designed for exactly this. You do not need a fully formed idea to start.
Related pages
Your idea
Tell us the idea.
We will tell you the truth.
Book a scoping call. We will tell you honestly whether the idea is ready, what the right scope looks like, and what it would cost to build. No obligation, no pitch — just an honest conversation.