You
The roles the business needs, and which of them you can cover yourself.
Not started yet
Should I start this? Find out what would have to be true.
Most new businesses get tested by spending the savings. Just Good Business tests the idea first, so you find out whether the business should exist before you put your money into building it.
Four gates come first
Each gate shows the evidence behind it. The fourth is the one most often skipped, so it always shows its working.
- Is the problem felt?Do the people you'd serve actually feel it, in their own words?
- Is there a solution?Can the problem be solved, by you or anyone?
- Do people already pay?Are people paying for solutions like it today?
- Would they buy from you?Would they choose yours, from you, at a price that works?
Then a "what would have to be true" sheet
Built from your own answers, in four parts. Each gap comes with the cheapest next test that would close it.
Living costs
How many months your savings carry you, and how much you could lose without harm.
The market
The buyers you can actually reach, and the commitments you have so far.
The first year's cash
The month cash is lowest and how deep the dip goes, the margin at the volumes you choose, and whether your lowest workable price sits under what buyers will pay.
No verdict. You decide.
There's no score and nobody tells you yes or no. You record your own decision:
- Go on
- Test more
- Stop for now
Choose "go on" and everything you've gathered carries straight into the start-up route: your first customers chosen on the map, the route to them drawn through the channels and partners that reach them, and the plan tested for what has to stay true, before the money is spent.
"Stop for now" is a good outcome too. Finding out before the lease is signed is the cheapest way to find out.
Got an idea you keep coming back to?
Tell us what it is and what worries you about it. We'll show you how the gates and the sheet would work for your idea.