I recently worked with an entrepreneur who is planning to invest in a prototype of his consumer product. I have a good feeling about his product; I think it has a good chance to solve a real problem for his target market. That’s as specific as I can be about it. But following the leadership of W. Edwards Deming, Steve Blank, Eric Ries, and Doug Hall, it is a good idea to test every assumption whenever possible. For urban businesses with limited cash, this also means finding ways to test gut feelings as cheaply as possible. Thinking of renting that empty restaurant? How about a food truck rental first, preferably in the same neighborhood?
Long story short, the entrepreneur was brave enough to let a superuser road test his only pre-prototype model over a weekend. Just one person, and just one test. The disappointment came when the superuser did not love the solution. He wanted to like it, but the solution required a change in behavior that simply didn’t work for him.
When the entrepreneur came by to pick up the model, I asked him what learning he could gain from the test result, regardless of the sample size. He related that he now had a better idea of how to target his first full test population. While I’m sure he would rather have woken up to accolades on Monday morning, the entrepreneur was able to integrate the data point, and move forward to the next hurdle.
Think about the last time one of your customers or beta testers gave you feedback that was hard to hear. Were you able to take value from their input, or did you throw up your hands and drown your sorrows in carbs? Continuous road testing is hazardous to the ego, especially at the start of a project. How can you get in the habit of doing it anyway?
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