litmus test
- A test that uses a single indicator to prompt a decision
Every few days I get an email for feedback on whether someone’s startup idea is worth doing, or for help figuring out how to pick just one idea and focus on it.
It’s tough making these decisions. We waste too much time working on the wrong things. So how do we improve our chances of picking the best idea?
This post is inspired by Startup Edition, in response to the question, “How do you turn your idea into a startup?”
Folks like Tim Ferriss and Eric Ries have championed the idea of a “smoke test”: simply make a landing page selling a product that you pretend you’ve already made and then use things like Google Ads to drive traffic to those pages. If you measure enough interest (clicks, signups, etc.), make the product.
It’s a valid method for testing some ideas. I’ve even used it myself. But here’s another...