At the idea stage, make the problem clearer.

What this stage means

You have an opportunity in mind, but the customer, urgency, delivery approach, or business model remains uncertain. Separate what you have observed from what you hope will be true. A slide deck can organize the idea, but it cannot answer those uncertainties.

What to work on next

Identify people who experience the problem and investigate recent examples. Understand existing alternatives and who makes decisions. Choose a small experiment that could change your mind.

• A problem statement with a specific customer and situation.
• Interview notes focused on behavior and workarounds.
• A list of the riskiest assumptions.
• One test with an owner, time window, and decision rule.

Useful support and measures

Look for customer discovery guidance, early entrepreneurship learning, and relevant domain expertise. Track what you learned and which assumptions changed. Plan the resources needed for the next experiment; avoid treating fundraising as a substitute for understanding the problem.

Questions, answered.