Instructions

Customer validation is the cornerstone of building a product that meets real market needs. This template provides a structured approach to systematically validate customer interest, gather actionable insights, and track progress. It integrates waitlisting strategies, data collection, and iteration processes to ensure that before you build, you know there’s demand.

Use this worksheet to validate assumptions, identify patterns, and adapt your strategy as you move towards Product-Market Fit (PMF).

🔍 Customer Hypothesis & Problem Definition

• What problem are you solving?
• Who are your ideal customers? (Define personas: industry, job title, demographics, pain points, behaviors, etc.)
• What alternative solutions are they currently using?
• How urgent is this problem for your target customers?
• What assumptions are you making about your customer’s willingness to pay?

📢 Outreach & Customer Discovery

• Channels used for outreach:
  • [ ] Cold emails
  • [ ] LinkedIn outreach
  • [ ] Social media engagement (Twitter, Reddit, Discord, Slack, etc.)
  • [ ] Community groups & forums
  • [ ] Networking & industry events
  • [ ] Paid ads targeting early adopters
• Outreach goal: Set a clear number (e.g., 50 conversations, 200 waitlist signups)
• Response rate tracking:

• Top objections and insights gathered from outreach:
  • Objection 1:
  • Objection 2:
  • Common themes:

📝 Validation Techniques & Tracking

1️⃣ Waitlist & Landing Page Strategy