My answer is Customer Validation. This is essentially what a Landing Page does, but I prefer a more personal approach. Before I begin building something I perso

My answer is Customer Validation. This is essentially what a Landing Page does, but I prefer a more personal approach. Before I begin building something I personally pitch at least 30 potential customers (excluding my network of friends/peers), and then follow up with a few questions. Consumer facing ideas are usually easier for me to validate than Enterprise or Business facing ideas, simply because it's easier to round up Consumers. What I'm basically doing is getting a feel for how people react to the idea (positive / negative). The follow up questions help me determine if I missed something and/or how valuable the idea might be. A successful validation usually results in positive feedback that I can document. A very successful validation results in actual customers, or people willing to pay for it on the spot (which HAS happened). This is something I continue to do while the Product is being built, and even after the Product is released.