Validating Your Business Idea (Without Spending a Dime)💡
Last Week We Took the First Step, Now We Validate
Hey there,
Last week, we took your idea out of your head and onto paper. You now (hopefully!) have a living business overview you can return to again and again. If you missed it, you can grab the free template right here.
This week, we’re getting scrappy and strategic with the next crucial step:
✅ How to Validate Your Business Idea (Without a Huge Budget)
You’ve got your idea down, now it’s time to test it in the real world.
Validation is how you find out if your idea actually solves a real problem for real people. And the key? Listening more than talking.
Let me tell you how I did it.
🐾 My Story: From an Idea to Crate Away
When I had the idea for Crate Away, a lightweight, collapsible dog crate, I didn’t go straight to designing or sourcing materials.
Instead, I went to my local dog parks. Every weekend. I’d walk up to strangers and ask:
“Do you use a dog crate? What do you love or hate about it?”
I didn’t pitch anything. I just asked questions.
These conversations revealed so much. People told me:
Their crates were too heavy to travel with
They hated how clunky and ugly they were
They wanted something they could easily fold and carry
Boom, pain points. Real ones. And they were repeating.
🎯 Turn Conversations Into Real Data
Talking to people is great, but businesses need data.
Here’s how to turn those conversations into actionable insights:
Create a Survey
Use Typeform, Google Forms, or SurveyMonkey. Ask a mix of:Yes/No questions (e.g. “Do you use a crate when you travel with your dog?”)
Multiple choice (e.g. “What’s most important to you in a crate: weight, portability, appearance, price?”)
Open-ended (e.g. “Tell me about the last time you used a dog crate—what worked, what didn’t?”)
Demographic questions of who is taking your survey (age, income, location, etc.)
Send It Broadly
Share it in Facebook groups, Reddit threads, and forums your target audience is in. If you’re building a product for dog moms, go where dog moms hang out online.Look for Patterns
This is where qualitative turns quantitative. Count how many times the same pain point shows up. For example:78% said “my crate is too bulky”
62% said “I don’t travel with my dog because the crate is a hassle”
48 people mentioned “wishing it folded down smaller”
Patterns = proof.
💬 Key Takeaways for You
Talk to strangers. In person, online, via DMs—just get the real talk.
Ask open-ended questions, then track the trends.
Let the data guide you, not your assumptions.
Validation should refine your idea, not erase it.
Next week, we’ll dive into creating a deck, what to do once you’ve validated your idea and how to communicate it to an audience.
Let’s keep building,
Kristyn
Want help crafting your survey or knowing what questions to ask your audience? Let’s chat
Female Founder Survey’s I recently took (and you should too):