Validate it in 48 hours syllabus
Enthusiasm is not demand
The reason validation has a bad reputation among technical people is that most of it is theatre: a survey, some encouraging replies, and a build that goes ahead exactly as it would have anyway.
Rank your signals by what they cost
Roughly, in ascending order of what they tell you:
- "Great idea" — costs nothing, means nothing.
- An email address — costs almost nothing. People give them to close conversations.
- A scheduled call — costs a diary slot. Now you have something.
- An introduction to a colleague — costs reputation. Considerably stronger.
- A deposit, pre-order, or paid pilot — costs money. The strongest signal available.
The jump between 2 and 3 is where validation starts. Everything below it is a survey with extra steps, and a survey measures how agreeable your respondents are.
The same question, two ways
Wording does most of the work here, and the wrong wording guarantees a yes.
Write your ask
One sentence that requests a costly action, with a specific price, a specific date, and no hypothetical framing.
Then read it aloud and check for the three tells: "would you", "imagine if", and any adjective describing your own product. All three convert a question into an advertisement.
Which result would you rather have?
Two possible weekends. Which is worth more?