As part of our ongoing series on how to build a start-up, Geovation’s own Jonathan Lewis dives into the messy, often misunderstood world of validation. Is it about proving that bad ideas can still be valid? Or discovering that good ideas might not be as solid as they seem? Either way, validation is less about judging the idea itself and more about understanding the problem space—and whether anyone actually cares enough to pay for your solution.

Start-up ideas come from all sorts of places—perhaps a frustrating house move or a personal drive to solve a problem seen from within an industry. But the idea itself isn’t usually the hard part. Ideas are cheap. What really matters is building something tangible that resonates with customers—enough for them to reach for their credit card.

In our last blog, we explored what makes a good idea. Now, we’re turning to how you validate it.

Why We Validate

Validation helps reduce risk. Most people can only afford to make one big mistake, so understanding your users is critical. Without that understanding, you’re unlikely to build something they’ll use for long, and you’ll be relying on assumptions—leading to more risk and inevitable missteps.

Founders often come from the industries they want to disrupt:

“If I’d had a tool like this, my life would’ve been so much easier.”

Building for yourself is easy. Building for others means understanding their needs and motivations. Assuming your own experience reflects that of a wider audience is a recipe for disaster. A former colleague once had a sticker on their laptop that read: “You’re not the user.” Those words can’t be overstated.

No one will arrest you for skipping validation, but you’ll likely make more mistakes and struggle to convince others of your vision. Without evidence, why would an investor, customer, or advocate believe in you? Early sales are as much about belief in you as they are in your product.

Your grasp of the problem space is a key factor in how credible you appear.

Talking to Your Users

Engaging with customers is hard. You’re trying to balance the potential for a sale with the opportunity to gain insights that refine your product. But it goes deeper—your language and messaging must be contextualised for your audience.

We often see start-ups pushing on closed doors, eager to speak to customers who aren’t receptive. Without understanding their domain and how your problem fits into their wider role, it’s difficult to judge your approach. Is your problem tied to 90% of their revenue, or just 10%? That context affects how much time they’ll give you.

There’s no single fix for closed doors. You may not have found the right users, mindset, or problem fit yet.

When Feedback Hurts, But Helps

Validation isn’t just about proving your idea is good, it’s about learning where it doesn’t fit, and why. Sometimes, the most valuable feedback is a polite “no.” Take for example my experience of pitching a product to an insurance company in a previous role.

We were pitching a new product to a large insurance company. We’d done our homework—user research, interviews, personas—the whole GDS playbook. We were excited to co-develop something genuinely useful. But the brokers shut us down. Politely, but firmly, they told us they didn’t co-develop ideas. They liked the concept, but didn’t have the time. If we built it, they might try it—otherwise, thanks and goodbye.

It stung. But it was also a gift. We realised we couldn’t build something for them without their input, and they didn’t feel the problem was urgent. They probably took the meeting out of courtesy. That moment helped us understand the limits of our assumptions. It wasn’t a failure, it was validation that this wasn’t the right space for us.

How to Validate

Talking to end users is always worthwhile—but not all conversations are equal. When users aren’t invested, their feedback tends to be superficial. Someone liking your idea at a conference proves nothing—it’s a throwaway comment, not a meaningful insight.

That’s not to say everything must follow Government Digital Service principles. It’s about balance. Strong insights—where users aren’t led to your solution—build trust in what you’re creating.

If you take three tips from this blog, let them be:

• Ask users to reference past experiences—they’ll add emotion and context.
• Strike a balance—half interview, half sales pitch. Don’t miss a chance to learn or land a sale.
• Have a hit list of topics. But if you need to prompt someone to get an answer, lower the value you place on it.

About Us

Lewis leads the Tech Team at Geovation. He has a wealth of experience in building complex scalable geospatial solutions to solve business needs. He loves a good map, and anything related to data. Our Tech Team sits at the heart of the Geovation community providing technical expertise, connecting startups to our network and signposting development resources to help them grow.

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