50+ Lean Validation Experiments

in collaboration with
VENTURISM
50+
Lean validation
experiments.
Rapid ways to test and prove your business ideas.
Introduction
Lean experimentation is a critical part of building
new businesses. It provides validated proof that
customers want your concept, that you can build it,
and that it’s profitable - all before you make heavy
invests in time, money or resources.
To help you find the right validation for your business

concept, we’ve created this library of battle-tested
experiments used by our Venture Builders in every
track.
From digital methods to face-to-face interactions,

each experiment describes when best to use it, the
results you can expect, the average cost of running it
and the time investment required.
Jelmer Peerbolte Leyash Pillay

Head of Bundl Amsterdam Head of Content
Co-founder of Venturism at Bundl
VENTURISM LINKEDIN EMAIL LINKEDIN

in collaboration with
VENTURISM
How should they use this resource?
The lean experimentation

methodology Experiment
design
New business ideas will always have unpredictable

elements, and without evidence-based foresight, there
can be serious damage. Start a new
cycle
This methodology enables you to validate ideas quickly Run Assumption
and at low cost, creating the opportunities needed to experiments mapping
adapt your business concepts based on reliable data.

The goal is to reduce the risks and speed up the delivery
of value-creating services in the market.
We’ll focus on assumption mapping, experiment design, Learn Kill
and listing the experiments you can run.
Experiment
design
Assumption
Mapping
Start a new
cycle
Run Assumption
experiments mapping
Discovering your current

level of uncertainty
Learn Kill
New ventures are chock-full of
unknowns and assumptions–that’s
normal. If left unchecked, this will
most certainly increase the number
of speed bumps in the process.
Identifying your riskiest

assumptions and creating a plan to
validate them, ultimately provides
you with a data-driven way to stay
ahead of any bottlenecks.
The Assumption Mapping exercise is DOWNLOAD THE CANVAS USE INTERACTIVE VERSION
done in three stages using a canvas:
1. Discover risky assumptions of 2. Prioritise assumptions on the scales, 3. Choose the validation approach that
desirability, feasibility, and viability. crucial/non-crucial and known/unknown. best fits your venture (it’s in this deck).
Experiment
design
Experiment
Design
Start a new
cycle
Run Assumption
experiments mapping
The four questions of

experiment selection
Learn Kill
1. What type of assumption are you
testing?
Pick experiments based on your main learning

objective. Some experiments produce better
evidence for desirability, some work better for
feasibility, and some are more appropriate for
Desirable Feasible
viability. 
 
Desirability: Do customers really need, and enjoy
this product?
Feasibility: Do you have the operational capabilities
to provide the product?
Responsible Viable Viability: Do you have a profitable and sustainable
business model?
Responsibility: Does the concept address social
and ethical concerns?
Aim to validate all four aspects across the entire
assumption validation effort.
2. How much evidence do you already
have for a specific assumption?
The less you know, the less time, energy, and i l i t y

R e l i a b
money you should waste.
C o s t
If you don’t have much initial evidence, your aim e d
e Viable
should be to get just enough proof to point you Sp
in the right direction. Quick and cheap is the
way to go.
Conversely, the more you know, the stronger

your experiments should be. In this case,
spending a bit more time and resources is the
right approach.
The balancing act of these three criteria should be based on
your current level of uncertainty. Let the evidence you
uncover guide your next steps and your priorities.
3. What type of data will give you the
right insights to validate an assumption?
Quantitative
Can I translate my findings
Qualitative to a larger group?
Why do people
make this choice?
Insights
Job to be done
Insights
Emotion
Overall opinion
Behaviour
Audiences
Context Calculation input

4. Which aspect of the concept are
you trying to validate?
Scale
Market Can we scale
the concept?
Which target market
Commercial resonates best with
Solution Do people understand the concept?
the concept’s value
Problem Does the solution proposition and
proposed solve the commercial story?
Opportunity What valid problem problem?
is the concept trying
Is there a real
to solve?
opportunity for the
concept to be
successful?
Experiment
design
Run 
Experiments
Start a new
cycle
Run Assumption
experiments mapping
Selecting the right  

methods of validation.
Learn Kill
Lean validation experiments
Overview of experiments
Keyword Research Paper Prototype Technical Prototype Deconstruction
The Mom Test Clickable Prototype Explainer Video The McDonalds Test
Trendspotting Landing Page Smoke Test The Zombie Test
Technological Developments The Upvote Interest List The Gut Check
Pre-order
Stakeholder Interviews Crowdfunding Painkiller or Vitamin
Concierge
Value Chain Analysis Email Campaign Net Promoter Score
Wizard of Oz
Stakeholder Mapping Brochure Cohort Retention Analysis
No-code MVP
Expert Fly-In Pop-up Store Organic Growth Rate
Mystery Shopping
Scoping Session Superhuman Engine Customer Support
User Test Recording
A Day In The Life Salesforce Test Run Fake Button
Viral Loops
Digital Survey Letter Of Intent Buy-A-Feature
Beta Launch
Boosted Blog Post Business Case Waiting List
Lifecycle Analysis
Digital Advertising Visual Prototype The Ghost CEO TestFlight
The Mom Test
Asking friends, family and fools whether they
like your product or business idea. RELEVANT ASPECT SPEED
Opportunity
Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Pro Tip Scale
Do not use the mom test!  
Friends, family and fools will always be positively TYPE DATA TYPE
biased towards your ideas.   Desirability Quantitative

  Feasibility Qualitative
Their responses may paint a brighter picture than Viability
Responsibility
reality, and cause you to make skewed decisions. COST €0
Keyword Research
Research Google Search trends, volumes and
quality within your market using tools like RELEVANT ASPECT SPEED
SEMRush, Ahrefs or ExplodingTopics. Opportunity
Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Scale
Pro Tip
Most people just research keyword volume.   TYPE DATA TYPE
Be sure to also look at the keyword trends, Desirability Quantitative

meaning keywords growing in volume.  Feasibility Qualitative
  Viability
Responsibility
They are equally, if not more important. COST €0
Trendspotting
Look for trends in user behaviour. The source
can be anything from online observation,
RELEVANT ASPECT SPEED
magazines, reports and data, to your own
Opportunity
intuition. Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Pro Tip Scale
The way people interact with a product or a topic
reveals a lot about their needs.
TYPE DATA TYPE
The sneaker first came about when people began Desirability Quantitative
wearing sports shoes as a fashion statement. Only Feasibility Qualitative
Viability
afterwards did Nike start designing them with that
Responsibility
purpose in mind. COST €0
Tech Developments
Similar to trendspotting, except you look for
new technologies that might have an impact on
your market. Opportunity
Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Pro Tip Commercial
Market
It’s easy to list emerging tech in a generic way, like
Scale
AI and VR and leave it at that. The true value is in
trying to predict how the technology might change
TYPE DATA TYPE
your market.  
  Desirability Quantitative
Feasibility Qualitative
Tools like Miro and Zoom have helped Bundl host
Viability
workshops remotely, making it easier to work with
Responsibility
international clients. COST €0
Stakeholder
Interviews
Interview individual stakeholders in your
ecosystem to better understand their needs RELEVANT ASPECT SPEED
and pain points. Opportunity

Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Pro Tip Market
Scale
Your goal is to identify their most critical pain.  
Every pain relates to a certain goal or mission.  
TYPE DATA TYPE
Ask stakeholders about their goals, before you ask
about the barriers to achieving them.  Desirability Quantitative
 
Viability
Use techniques like “asking why 5 times” to arrive
Responsibility
at that point. COST < €500
Stakeholder Mapping
Visually map out all the stakeholders in your
market, along with their needs and pain points.
Then identify ways they could solve each
Opportunity
other’s problems. Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Pro Tip Scale
See if and how stakeholders can solve each

TYPE DATA TYPE
other’s needs. This could become your first draft
value exchange.   Desirability Quantitative
 
Viability
AirBnB and Uber were able to counterposition
Responsibility
Hotels and Taxis this way respectively. COST €0
Value Chain Analysis
Break down every step from raw material to
product and consumer on multiple levels (e.g. SPEED
RELEVANT ASPECT
stakeholders involved, resources spent, costs, Opportunity
time, etc.). Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Pro Tip Scale
Understanding the value chain makes it easier to

TYPE DATA TYPE
spot gaps, or opportunities for improvement.  
Try to make steps in the value chain more
Viability
accessible, like Shopify did. You can also check if
Responsibility
there are any stakeholders you can skip over. COST < €500
Expert Fly-In
Invite topical experts for a feedback session.
Present any opportunities, problems or ideas
you’ve spotted or created and let them poke
Opportunity
holes in them. Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Pro Tip Scale
Experts have a very educated, but very

TYPE DATA TYPE
concentrated view on things. Sometimes they see
their part of the map, but not the whole territory.   Desirability Quantitative
 
Viability
Always ask “why" something is a good or bad
Responsibility
idea. Avoid yes/no answers. COST €500-1000
Scoping Session
Invite the decision-making people involved in
your innovation project to decide which SPEED
RELEVANT ASPECT
markets and opportunities to pursue in the Opportunity
project. Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Pro Tip Market
Scale
For venture builders / agencies.  
 
TYPE DATA TYPE
Ask about team-members’ dreams & pitfalls. Do
some market research beforehand and identify Desirability Quantitative
relevant opportunity spaces, so that the exercise Feasibility Qualitative
Viability
becomes one of “eliminating opportunities” rather
Responsibility
than “finding” them. COST €0
A Day In The Life
Tail a potential user for a day and make
observations. This will help you understand their
journey and the challenges that arise. RELEVANT ASPECT SPEED
Opportunity
Problem
Solution
Pro Tip RELIABILITY
Commercial
Ask them to document their thought process in a Market
Customer Journey Map:  Scale
 
- What did they do?  TYPE DATA TYPE
- How did they feel about it? 
Desirability Quantitative
- What challenges did they face?  Feasibility Qualitative
- How did they solve those challenges?  Viability
  Responsibility
COST < €500/user
Analyse / Ask what their actions imply about their
needs.
Digital Survey
Send a “one-to-many” questionnaire to a
potential target group in order to get feedback on
the problem, solution, or perceived value of a
Opportunity
product. Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Scale
Pro Tip
TYPE DATA TYPE
Keep things short, with a maximum of 10
questions. It should take no more than 5 minutes.
• Aim for 80% quantitative feedback.
Viability
Responsibility
• Use 0-5 scoring and prioritisation questions. COST €500-5000
Digital Ad
Run a digital ad campaign teasing your solution,
or talking about the problem. Use Facebook or
Google and analyse if people are interested.
Opportunity
Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Pro Tip Scale
A/B Test different variations of the problem

TYPE DATA TYPE
and the solution, to see which gets the best
response. 
Viability
Responsibility
Make your targeting as niche as possible. COST > €500
Find out how we used
validation experimentation
when creating The Park
Playground.
SEE FULL CASE STUDY
A venture by:
Boosted Blog Post
Write an opinion-piece blog post outlining a
problem / solution and boost it using a small
amount of money to see if people read and
Opportunity
respond to it. Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Pro Tip Market
If your product were a blog post, what would it Scale
look like? That’s what you want to write.
TYPE DATA TYPE

Outline the problem and a potential solution. Don’t
be afraid to be a little bit polarising.   Desirability Quantitative
Viability
Measure your qualitative interactions (comments)
Responsibility
as well as open / read statistics and likes / shares. COST €50-250/post
Paper Prototype
Use pen, paper and scissors to create a mock-
up of your app and ask users to interact with it
as if it were software. Get their feedback on what
Opportunity
is or isn’t working. Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Pro Tip
Scale
Co-create with your customer by using your
mock-up to iterate on the fly.   TYPE DATA TYPE
The benefit of paper prototyping is that you Feasibility Qualitative
can redesign a screen fast and gauge Viability
Responsibility
customer preferences. COST < €500
Clickable Mock-up
Build a digital mock-up using Figma, Sketch, or
Adobe XD. Test it with actual users to find out
how usable and understandable it is.
Opportunity
Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Pro Tip Commercial
Market
Ask users to record their screen and
Scale
verbalise their thoughts as they are going
through the prototype.  TYPE DATA TYPE
Give them pre-defined assignments and see Feasibility Qualitative
if the UI is effective enough for them to get Viability
Responsibility
things done without any help. COST < €500
Landing Page
Build, launch and drive traffic to a landing page
explaining your product and see if people sign-
up / pre-order / fake check-out. 
Opportunity
  Problem
You can use ads to increase traffic. Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Pro Tip Scale
Choose a single action you want people to

TYPE DATA TYPE
perform, then measure it. Common actions
include “interest list sign-ups” or “pre-orders”.   Desirability Quantitative
 
Viability
Create multiple variations of your landing page to
Responsibility
test things like branding, pricing, etc. COST €500-5000
The Upvote
Launch your product on a curation platform like
Product Hunt. Check how well they are
“upvoted” to estimate people’s interest in the
Opportunity
product OR to drive traffic to a landing page. Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Pro Tip Scale
Even when using a high-traffic platform like

TYPE DATA TYPE
Product Hunt, you’ll still have to invest a lot in
driving traffic to your specific page.   Desirability Quantitative
Viability
(Organic) promotion is a large part of a successful
Responsibility
upvote campaign. COST < €500
Crowdfunding
Launch your product on a platform like
Kickstarter to measure buyer-intent while
leveraging the crowd to raise funding.
Opportunity
Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Scale
Pro Tip
Even more so than with the Upvote, promotion is TYPE DATA TYPE
the key to a successful campaign.   Desirability Quantitative

Kickstarter is basically a pre-sales strategy, so Viability
Responsibility
expect to invest resources in marketing. COST €0-2500
Email Campaign
Run an e-mail campaign targeted at potential
customers to gauge problem- or solution-fit.
Opportunity
Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Scale
Pro Tip
A pre-existing e-mail list with the right target TYPE DATA TYPE
audience, makes validation that much easier.  
Simply ask them for feedback.  Feasibility Qualitative
Viability
Responsibility
Go as niche as possible with your e-mail targeting. COST €0-2500
Online Communities
Use target audience communities like Reddit to
share your product idea (in any form). Ask your
most niche audience for feedback.
Opportunity
Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Pro Tip
Scale
• Aim for qualitative feedback.
• Ensure there is value or reward in it for the TYPE DATA TYPE
community members.
• Can’t find a community for your niche?
Viability
Consider a “community-first” approach
Responsibility
and start your own! COST €0
Brochure
Physically hand out a flyer or brochure and
observe if people read it, toss it, scan the QR
code, etc.
Market
Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Opportunity
Pro Tip Scale
Few people read flyers / brochures. Use design to
grab their attention, or package your sales pitch TYPE DATA TYPE
with value.   Desirability Quantitative

Conversion on flyers is hard to track. Try to funnel Viability
Responsibility
them to digital with a QR code. COST €0-500
Pop-up Store
Open a temporary Point-of-Sale to check if your
sales numbers validate your business case.
Opportunity
Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Pro Tip Scale
Trade fares and festivals are a great place for pop-
ups.   TYPE DATA TYPE
Use the pop-up store to validate your business Feasibility Qualitative
case, especially the average order value and unit Viability
Responsibility
economics associated with it. COST < €5000
Superhuman Engine
Use the Product-Market-Fit quantification engine
pioneered by Superhuman (Google it).
The idea is to ask potential customers how big Opportunity

the pain of losing your product would be. Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Scale
TYPE DATA TYPE
Pro Tip Desirability Quantitative

Be sure to use your questionnaire / interviews as Feasibility Qualitative
an opportunity to capture feedback about Viability
Responsibility
improving your product. COST < €5000
Sales Force Test Run
Have your sales team pitch a B2B proposition to
potential customers as if it were already live and
for sale. The outreach should be direct e.g. by
Opportunity
phone or using tools like LinkedIn. Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Scale
Pro Tip
TYPE DATA TYPE
Take preorders or letters of intent to measure
conversion.  Desirability Quantitative
Viability
Use the feedback from your sales team to
Responsibility
optimise your pitch. COST Discount %
Trusted by leading
corporations.
We’ve built over 200 corporate
ventures in the past 10 years.
Taking each one through the
Discover, Pilot, Launch and Grow
phases of a venturing journey–all
boosted by validation experiments.
DISCOVER OUR SERVICES

Letter Of Intent
Best used when pitching to B2B customers. If a
potential customer signs a “letter of intent”
stating they will purchase your product as soon
Opportunity
as it’s finished, that’s as good a validation as any. Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Scale
TYPE DATA TYPE
Pro Tip Feasibility Qualitative
Use digital signing software to smoothen the Viability
Responsibility
process. COST €0
Business Case
Build an in-depth financial projection to learn the
dynamics of your business e.g. unit economics.
Determine the Y1 startup cost, and the Y5+
Opportunity
revenue potential. Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Scale
Pro Tip
TYPE DATA TYPE
Identify the key levers in your business case, and
test their sensitivity by creating best- & worst-case Desirability Quantitative
scenarios. 
Viability
 
Responsibility
Look for exponential (non-linear) growth. COST €0
Visual Prototype
Use a visual, physical, non-functioning prototype
to gauge commercial interest in your (physical)
product. This is only for physical products.
Opportunity
Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Scale
TYPE DATA TYPE

This is also a sales tool. Make it visually appealing Feasibility Qualitative
and communicate what your product does Viability
Responsibility
conceptually, using mock-ups. COST €0-100k
Technical Prototype
Use a functional, non-aesthetic prototype to test
the technical feasibility of your product. The main
question is: can we build this? Can we get this to
Opportunity
work? A scale model can in many cases be Problem
enough. Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Scale
TYPE DATA TYPE
Technical prototyping is an iteration game. Don’t Viability
Responsibility
worry too much about perfecting it at this stage. COST €0-100k
Explainer Video
Create a video or animation explaining your value
proposition and test it with end-users. Gather
data on things like interest, content quality,
Opportunity
information retention and /or information Problem
reproduction. Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Scale
TYPE DATA TYPE

Pro Tip
• Keep it under a minute.
• Focus on your commercial story as much as Viability
your actual solution. Responsibility
COST €500-5000
Smoke test
Launch a website as if your product were already
available for sale. See how many people try to
buy it. 
Opportunity
  Problem
Related: Pre-orders Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Scale
TYPE DATA TYPE

Pro Tip
• Capture the e-mail addresses of those interested.
• A/B test different variations of the landing page Viability
Responsibility
to optimise for conversions later on. COST €5000.+
READ EXPLAINER BLOG POST
Interest List Enter email address Join waiting list
Ask interested users for their e-mail address so

you can keep them informed about your
upcoming product. Use this as a measure of
Opportunity
commercial potential. Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Scale
TYPE DATA TYPE
Use referral incentives to increase your reach and Viability
Responsibility
accelerate the growth of your interest list. COST €500-5000
Pre-order
Give users the option to pre-order your
proposition at a discount, to gauge interest and
commercial potential. 
Opportunity
  Problem
Combines well with: Smoke Test. Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Scale
TYPE DATA TYPE
As with the Upvote and Crowdfunding, this tactic Viability
Responsibility
requires a marketing investment. COST €5000
Concierge
A form of MVP where on the user's side things
seem automated, but behind the scenes they are
solved manually. 
Opportunity
  Problem
The main goal is to simulate the end-experience Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
for the user, and gather their feedback on it.
Market
Scale
TYPE DATA TYPE

Try to learn as much about the process by doing it Feasibility Qualitative
manually, so that you can automate it effectively Viability
Responsibility
later on. COST €0
Wizard of Oz
Test a prototype that gives the impression of a fully
functional product, but actually has no code behind
it. 
  Opportunity
Problem
This approach also works for some physical
Solution
products. The Nicola electric truck was infamously Commercial
RELIABILITY
rolled down hill to create their promo video. Market

Scale
TYPE DATA TYPE
Pro Tip Viability
Responsibility
Calculate your cost & time savings up front. COST < €500
No-code MVP
Build a fully functional MVP using no-code tools.
To be clear, the MVP DOES run on code, but you
don't have to do any of the coding!
Opportunity
Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Scale
TYPE DATA TYPE

Build multiple MVPs within the same opportunity / Feasibility Qualitative
solution space, and funnel them like an Viability
Responsibility
accelerator would. COST < €5000
Mystery Shopping
Complete the buyer's journey for one or more
competing offerings to learn from them. Then use
the experience to improve your proposition on
Opportunity
multiple levels. Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Scale
TYPE DATA TYPE

For digital journeys, record your screen to capture Feasibility Qualitative
your actions, and verbalise your thoughts and pain Viability
Responsibility
points. COST €0-500
User Test Recording
Ask users to record themselves and provide
voice-overs while performing pre-defined tasks in RELEVANT ASPECT SPEED
a prototype. Opportunity
Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Scale
Pro Tip
• Do not guide the user.
TYPE DATA TYPE
• Simply provide instructions e.g. “try to post a Desirability Quantitative

picture on your timeline”.
Viability
• Comfort the user: There are no dumb users, Responsibility
just bad designs. COST €500-2500
Viral Loops
Use gamification techniques to incentivise users
to share your product and attract new RELEVANT ASPECT SPEED
customers. Check out viral-loops.com. Opportunity
Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Scale
TYPE DATA TYPE

Building virility into your product, like social media, Feasibility Qualitative
rather than adding it on top, like most ecomm Viability
stores, makes it much more powerful. Responsibility
COST Discount %
Beta launch
Launch a fully functional MVP in a controlled test
group for testing and learning purposes. The RELEVANT ASPECT SPEED
operative word here is: controlled test group. Opportunity
Keep your groups small and respond to Problem
feedback and issues quickly. Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Scale
TYPE DATA TYPE

Use the exclusivity of beta-access to generate Feasibility Qualitative
pre-hype and create momentum behind the Viability
Responsibility
eventual launch. COST €10k+
Waiting list
Create a numbered waiting list where interested
users can drop their e-mail addresses. You can RELEVANT ASPECT SPEED
use gamification for users who want to move up Opportunity
the list. Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Scale
TYPE DATA TYPE

Pro Tip
• Works well with the Beta Launches.
• Leverage people’s excitement to join, by Viability
Responsibility
asking them to share, refer and pre-order. COST €500-5000
Want to know how
to do a Smoke Test?
We’ve explained
everything in this
video.
WAT C H N O W
The Ghost CEO
Are you able to delegate your work in a way that
makes you the Owner on paper, but actually others
are making it happen?  
Opportunity
  Problem
If yes, it’s a huge indicator of having set up a Solution
RELIABILITY
successful business. Real money works without you. Commercial
Market
Scale
TYPE DATA TYPE

Delegate / automate single tasks at a time until Feasibility Qualitative
you have phased yourself out – do not make this Viability
Responsibility
change overnight. COST €0
Deconstruction
Break down competing / adjacent businesses on
all levels e.g. audience, value proposition, RELEVANT ASPECT SPEED
branding, channels, business model, etc. and Opportunity
learn from their experience. Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Pro Tip Market
Scale
• Try to understand the needs/market gaps that
competitors fill.
TYPE DATA TYPE

• Identify how competitors differentiate
themselves.
• Try to find gaps in their positioning that you Viability
Responsibility
might fill. COST €0
McDonald’s Test
Automate or simplify all processes in your
business until they can be copy-pasted without
affecting your bottom line.  
Opportunity
  Problem
At McDonald’s everyone can learn to make a Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
burger, and produce a result of predictable quality.
Market
Scale
Pro Tip
TYPE DATA TYPE
• Mostly for brick & mortar businesses.
• Your automation setup has to work across Feasibility Qualitative
multiple cultural and environmental contexts – or Viability
Responsibility
easily adapt to fit each. COST < €100k
The Zombie Test
Startup-life is a race against the clock. Or rather, the
funding. Ask yourself: 
 
Opportunity
Is my company default alive or default dead?  
Problem
  Solution
RELIABILITY
Meaning: can it survive on its current P&L, or will it Commercial
bankrupt without another round of funding? Market
Scale
TYPE DATA TYPE
Combine the Zombie Test with other product- Viability
Responsibility
market-fit tests. It is not a standalone validation. COST €0
The Gut Check
A common response to the question “What is
product-market fit?” is: You’ll know it when you RELEVANT ASPECT SPEED
experience it.   Opportunity
  Problem
Hence, do not discount your entrepreneurial gut Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
in evaluating PM-fit. Market
Scale
TYPE DATA TYPE
If you’re unsure whether you have PM-fit, you Viability
Responsibility
probably don’t have it. COST €0
Painkiller or Vitamin
Another gut-check:  
Does your solution actually solve a crucial pain, RELEVANT ASPECT SPEED
making it a need-to-have, or is it a non-essential Opportunity
vitamin, making it a nice-to-have.   Problem
  Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
You want to create a painkiller. Market
Scale
TYPE DATA TYPE
People occasionally buy vitamins, but they always Viability
Responsibility
buy painkillers. COST €0
Cohort Retention
Analysis
Measure the retention (%) of a new user cohort
over a prolonged period of time (e.g. 1+
Opportunity
month).
Problem
Solution
Retaining customers is cheaper, and more RELIABILITY
Commercial
worthwhile, than acquiring new ones. It is also Market
harder, unfortunately. Scale
TYPE DATA TYPE

Particularly relevant for subscription businesses Feasibility Qualitative
where Customer Lifetime Value is the North Star Viability
Responsibility
Metric. COST €0
Net Promoter Score
(NPS)
Poll your user base for its promoters and RELEVANT ASPECT SPEED
detractors and calculate the NPS.
Opportunity
The central question here is: “How likely would Problem
Solution
you be to recommend product x to a friend?”. A Commercial
RELIABILITY
promotor will score ≥8. A detractor ≤6. Market

Scale
TYPE DATA TYPE
If possible, try benchmarking your NPS results Viability
Responsibility
against competitors. COST < €5000
Organic Growth Rate
An indicator of Product-Market fit sometimes
used for software businesses is: Does organic RELEVANT ASPECT SPEED
growth + traffic account for ≥50% of new users? Opportunity
Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Scale
TYPE DATA TYPE
If the answer is no, map your offering’s growth and Viability
Responsibility
look for gaps / optimisations. COST €0
Customer Support
Go undercover in customer support for a few
days to discover customer needs and pain points RELEVANT ASPECT SPEED
first hand. Opportunity
Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Scale
TYPE DATA TYPE

Write down every question, pain point and Feasibility Qualitative
observation so you can check how common they Viability
Responsibility
are with other Customer Support personnel. COST €0
Fake Button
Create a non-functioning button in an existing
product to test interest in a new feature.   RELEVANT ASPECT SPEED
Measure the percentage of people that tried to Opportunity
click it as an indicator of interest. Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Scale
TYPE DATA TYPE
Do not overuse this tactic, as it can detract from Viability
Responsibility
the overall UX. COST €0
Buy A Feature
Give users a limited amount of mock-currency to
spend on a handful of features. This will enable RELEVANT ASPECT SPEED
you to discover their preferences and priorities. Opportunity
Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Scale
Pro Tip TYPE DATA TYPE
Base the “pricing” on the effort and cost of Desirability Quantitative

building the feature on your end. So features that Feasibility Qualitative
Viability
are more difficult for you to build, are more
Responsibility
expensive for customers. COST < €500
Lifecycle
Assessment
Perform a cradle-to-grave analysis on the
resources to determine their ecological impact.
Important factors to consider include things like Opportunity

end-of-life disposal and CO2 pollution, among Problem
Solution
others. Commercial
RELIABILITY
Market
Scale
Pro Tip
The map is not the territory. It’s never as simple as TYPE DATA TYPE
a spreadsheet. Elements interact.  Desirability Quantitative

Go out into the real world and talk to experts Viability
Responsibility
about how to reduce your ecological footprint. COST €0
TestFlight
Beta-test an app on an “invite-only” basis or as a
“public beta" using the Apple TestFlight app.
This one only works for iOS products, but is a Opportunity

great source of insight and referral. Problem
Solution
RELIABILITY
Commercial
Market
Scale
TYPE DATA TYPE
Viability
Feature your app in the unofficial Airport App - the
Responsibility
app store for iOS apps that are in beta. COST €100-500
Wrap-Up
Validating your business ideas before
investing too much too soon will set
The earlier you your venture up for success.

Going through the assumption mapping
start validating process first, then planning out your
assumptions experiments will save you lots of time
and money.
the higher your Use this deck as a handbook and refer
chance of back to it whenever you embark on a
success. new business venture.

Happy innovating!
Feeling inspired   We can guide you through the
process and help your
but unsure company achieve venturing
about which success.

Feel free to reach out and
experiments are start the conversation.
perfect for your
project?
Thomas Van Halewyck
Co-founder and managing
partner at Bundl
EMAIL LINKEDIN

50+ Lean Validation Experiments

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

50+ Lean Validation Experiments

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

50+ Lean Validation Experiments

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

in collaboration with

To help you find the right validation for your business

From digital methods to face-to-face interactions,

Jelmer Peerbolte Leyash Pillay

VENTURISM LINKEDIN EMAIL LINKEDIN

The lean experimentation

New business ideas will always have unpredictable

adapt your business concepts based on reliable data.

Discovering your current

Identifying your riskiest

done in three stages using a canvas:

The four questions of

Pick experiments based on your main learning

The less you know, the less time, energy, and i l i t y

Conversely, the more you know, the stronger

Context Calculation input

Selecting the right

biased towards your ideas. Desirability Quantitative

Be sure to also look at the keyword trends, Desirability Quantitative

and pain points. Opportunity

See if and how stakeholders can solve each

Understanding the value chain makes it easier to

Experts have a very educated, but very

A/B Test diﬀerent variations of the problem

SEE FULL CASE STUDY

TYPE DATA TYPE

Choose a single action you want people to

Even when using a high-traﬃc platform like

the key to a successful campaign. Desirability Quantitative

• Ensure there is value or reward in it for the TYPE DATA TYPE

with value. Desirability Quantitative

RELEVANT ASPECT SPEED

The idea is to ask potential customers how big Opportunity

TYPE DATA TYPE

Pro Tip Desirability Quantitative

DISCOVER OUR SERVICES

TYPE DATA TYPE

TYPE DATA TYPE

Pro Tip Desirability Quantitative

TYPE DATA TYPE

TYPE DATA TYPE

TYPE DATA TYPE

Ask interested users for their e-mail address so

TYPE DATA TYPE

TYPE DATA TYPE

TYPE DATA TYPE

Pro Tip Desirability Quantitative

rolled down hill to create their promo video. Market

TYPE DATA TYPE

TYPE DATA TYPE

Pro Tip Desirability Quantitative

TYPE DATA TYPE

Pro Tip Desirability Quantitative

• Simply provide instructions e.g. “try to post a Desirability Quantitative

TYPE DATA TYPE

TYPE DATA TYPE

Pro Tip Desirability Quantitative

TYPE DATA TYPE

TYPE DATA TYPE

Pro Tip Desirability Quantitative

Selecting the right  

biased towards your ideas.   Desirability Quantitative

the key to a successful campaign.   Desirability Quantitative

with value.   Desirability Quantitative

a spreadsheet. Elements interact.  Desirability Quantitative