Episode 6: Validation Without Building: The Easiest Smoke Test cover art

Episode 6: Validation Without Building: The Easiest Smoke Test

Episode 6: Validation Without Building: The Easiest Smoke Test

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 Episode SummaryMost founders waste months building products nobody wants. This episode shows you how to validate any idea in 24 hours with just one page and 20 people—no code, no design, no MVP required. You'll learn the one-page smoke test: a simple three-step framework to get real behavioral signal (not opinions) before you build anything.Resources MentionedFree Resource:One Sentence Product Snap Worksheet - Write your problem description and simple CTARecommended Kits:Kickstart Kit ($19) - Turn ideas into testable hypothesesBeta List Builder Kit ($39) - Recruit testers and collect useful feedbackShip List (Do This Week)Write your problem description - One paragraph. Format: "If you're a WHO struggling with PROBLEM, you know how PAINFUL DETAIL feels." Make it specific enough that your target person says "that's me."Add a simple CTA - Not "sign up" or "join waitlist." Use: "I'm building something to solve this. Want to talk? Book 15 minutes here." Or even simpler: "Reply with your email and I'll reach out."Share it with 20 people - DM 20 people directly. Post in one community. Email your list. Get it in front of exactly 20 people and track who responds.Measure ListMetric 1: Response RateSuccess: 5+ people (25% or higher) book a call or reply → Strong demand. Build it.Weak signal: 1-2 people respond → Have the conversations, learn more, refine your problem description and try again.Fail: 0 responses → No demand. Don't build. You just saved three months. Try a different problem.Metric 2: Conversation QualitySuccess: When you talk to people who responded, they're excited. They ask "when will this be ready?" They describe the pain in their own words. This is real validation.Fail: Polite interest only. "That's cool." But no urgency. No follow-up questions. This is not enough signal to build.Key Takeaway"Behavior beats opinions. If someone won't spend 15 minutes talking about your solution, they definitely won't spend $15 buying it."Validation isn't about asking "would you use this?" It's about watching what people do when you offer them something real. A conversation is real. A waitlist signup is not. If 5 out of 20 people will talk to you, you have demand. If zero will, you just saved yourself months of building the wrong thing.Worked Example: Content Repurposing ToolThe Problem Description: "If you're a content creator who writes long-form posts, you know how tedious it is to manually break them into Twitter threads. Copy, paste, edit for length, adjust tone, add hooks. It takes an hour per post. And if you don't do it? Your best writing stays buried in your blog. Nobody sees it."The Offer: "I'm building a tool that turns blog posts into threads automatically. If you'd use something like this, I'd love to show you a quick demo and get your feedback. Book 15 minutes here."The Test: Shared with 20 content creators. 6 people booked calls (30% response rate). Strong demand confirmed. Built the product informed by those 6 conversations. Had 6 ready testers on day one.About Ship SomethingShip Something: The Unstuck Product Show helps founders turn stuck into shipped. Each week, we take one common product problem and turn it into a simple framework and a real action plan.New episodes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.Subscribe:AmazonSpotifyYouTubeRSS FeedFollow Product Kit OSWebsite: ProductKitOS.comTwitter (X): @SeanHiltos (founder, Product Kit OS)Instagram: Product Kit OSYouTube: @ProductKitOSEpisode produced: January 2026Hosted on: RedCircleSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/ship-something/donations
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