Before You Build: The Hidden Power of Testing Your Business Idea

Most of us start with "great idea, let's build it", says Nicola Filzmoser, and skip the part where we find out whether anyone has the problem the idea solves. In her workshop on 14 May 2025 she shows a short path from assumptions to experiments, using the question "I wonder if I'm right?" instead of "I know how this works".

What the talk covers

• Map your assumptions in three clusters: your customer segment (who exactly you help, never "everyone"), your offer and value proposition, and your business model. The last includes how you reach people.
• Prioritise with two questions: which assumption must be true for the business to work, and how much evidence do you have for it? Put the critical, unproven ones first. Set a timer, 15 or 20 minutes, so you don't get stuck analysing.
• Turn them into testable hypotheses: precise, one thing at a time, with a clear picture of what counts as success.
• Experiments: customer interviews first. They are conversations, not 20-question surveys, and give qualitative confidence rather than statistics. Others are landing pages, storyboards and a "concierge" test where you deliver the service by hand before building anything.
• Decide afterwards: persevere with another test, pivot to another audience or product, or kill the idea. She closed a company after four years and calls killing an idea hard but sometimes necessary.

Her guidelines

Never skip talking to customers, build something ugly quickly, and base decisions on what you tested, not on your favourite feature.

Who it's for

Freelancers and founders before they invest weeks in a product or offer.