How I validated my startup idea for Cheeky
Discovered a new style of validation - Compare and Contrast
When I was mindlessly surfing Amazon Prime, I had a spark of an idea. Having had a vibrant professional life pre Covid, I resorted to investigate. This has become my obsession since Valentine's Day 2021.
After reading online resources by YCombinator, Antler Launch Academy and some more startup related stuff, my validation process took the form of a compare and contrast.
1. BirdsEye view
Past trend- current trend - future expectation
I started with understanding the broad trend across time. I imagined a future shaped by Cheeky. Then contrasted it with today. The Cheeky Utopia will consist of happy couples, creating stable homes nurturing each other.
The recent-past trend of the world is made up of increased divorces, fewer marriages and most breakups in the first 2 years of a relationship. The current trend is a disorientation caused by the hookup culture, higher occurrences of depression and anxiety, complimented with a highly volatile economy. The future expectation of the economy on the people is demanding in terms of technical skills and resilience. If the Cheeky Utopia became a reality, then we have healthy minds harmoniously learning and creating.
I found an overarching longterm meaning to this startup.
2. Make it Tangible
Identify Competition and Current market trend
My next step was to evaluate my congruence with the world. Does the world want this problem solved? Am I thinking like the majority? I have to think like the majority to be bought, without which I will fail to convince people to try Cheeky. So I identified my competitors and others selling to my TAM (Total Available Market). I found a couple of startups which are solving the same problem. Then I studied my TAM’s current approach to solving the problem which included online forums, self help, talking to friends and family, therapy and counselling.
3. Think like a Successful Startup
TAM Vs Niche Market Size evaluation
I have confirmed that a lot of people are suffering this problem, that’s a good TAM. Now as a startup in its very early days, I must identify the very few who will be ready to work with me. For this, I conducted about 25 customer interviews and figured my customer persona. My first 100 users are likely to be younger Gen Y and older Gen Z, educated, employed or freelancing in technology or arts, willing to invest time in oneself and believes in a happy future.
4. Frame Hypothesis
What is my Belief?
My hypothesis was that - people entering, experiencing and exiting romantic relationship need better emotional and intellectual support to achieve their goals. They are willing to try solutions that will help them.
5. Brand the Baby
Believe it and visualize it!
Now is a good time to believe in my work, think about the personality of the company and the product approach. Branding begins here. I want to create a light hearted solution, so I chose a suitable name. I secured the domain immediately, joincheeky.com. So lucky! Then I wrote up some values and principles for the company to guide me.
6. Vision Vs Action
Today - The Cheeky Utopia
The Cheeky Utopia is a dreamy grand vision for the future. To make this vision a reality, I have to work for it consciously. So I strategized an action plan. It includes iterating MVPs, finding first believers, cofounders and investors. Each of which includes sub-tasks, all of which are time sensitive. I will be using project management tools for this.
7. Moral Support
Reach Out and talk
As a solo founder with specific skills, I need moral support to carry on with my journey until I found the others with the rest of the required skills. In addition to reaching out to people in my network, I joined the Antler Launch Academy, a free resource to get some feedback on my idea and execution. This journey is challenging and emotionally demanding.
8. Launch
problem validation and solution validation
As per YC’s advice, I launched within the first couple of weeks after validating the problem. In addition to the customer interviews, the launch was to further validate the problem and discover the solution. I narrowed down my customer personas from the launch. It was a simple landing page and the product was via a wizard of oz. Launching was the best thing I did, it was a very quick method to experiment with solutions.
My Next steps
Customer interviews to validate product features
Finding cofounders/advisors
Improve social presence
Here is my pitch deck, have a look.
My Ask
Just say hi @ join cheeky@gmail.com, it means a lot :)