Minimal Viable Product (MVP)
You do not need a completed product to test your most risky assumptions. This way you avoid a lot of waste if customers turn out to want something else. Therefore test with a Minimal Viable Product (MVP). This is the smallest, fastest way to create version of a product that you will be testing. An MVP can be a video, a landing page but also a physical product. This way you avoid a lot of waste if customers turn out to want something else.
Test with your early adopters (those who have the problem, tried to solve it themselves, and the first group that will use your product) and use your MVP to get through the Build, Measure, Learn loop as quickly as possible to go. Keep your MVP as simple and cheap as possible. Adjust based on your findings.
For example, founder Nick Swinmurn of Zappos wanted to test the hypothesis that customers were ready to buy shoes online. Instead of building a website and a large database of shoes, Swinmurn approached local shoe stores, took photos of their inventory, posted the photos online, bought the shoes from the stores at full price after he made a sale and then sent them directly to customers. Swinmurn concluded that customer demand was present, and Zappos would eventually grow into a billion-dollar business based on the model to sell shoes online.
What do you get out of it?
You avoid wasting time and money by building something that customers don't want. Make time and money that you can later invest in something that customers are waiting for.
Get started quickly
There are different forms of MVPs. View the videos for examples. There are also plenty of handy tools to quickly build an MVP.
Want to know more?
Test your MVP with your Early Adopters. They have the problem and are looking for a solution.