Build and sell your own product

Stage 1 · Lesson 7 of 7

Scoring ideas and choosing one

Find a problem worth solving

You will end up with several possible problems. Give each a score on a few questions. How painful and frequent is it?

Do people already pay for a fix? How easily can you reach these customers? What is here?

Could you build a first version in weeks rather than months? Then pick one problem and commit to testing it for a fixed time, such as three weeks. Turn it into a clear and keep the others in a notes file.

Choosing matters because testing needs focus. Testing three ideas at once usually means testing none of them properly. Base each score on you actually found.

Common trapscoring your favourite idea higher on every question, so write down the evidence behind each score.

A question to check yourself, an AI practice session and 2 cheat sheet entries come with the full roadmap. Unlock

Resources for this stage

Start with

  • CourseFree
    Startup School

    Y Combinator · Beginner

    Free lessons on how good ideas come from real problems; watch the ideas and talking to users sections first

Keep handy

  • Google Trends

    Check whether interest in your problem is growing, seasonal or fading, and where searchers are

  • Indie Hackers

    Search your problem area to see what others built, charged and learned, including failures

Also worth your time

Mark this stage as not done?