The field notes

Less theory. Better tests.

Small, honest ways to find out whether anyone wants your idea.

Concierge and Wizard of Oz Tests Explained

Test an outcome by doing the work by hand before building software. Choose a manual format, disclose human work, and measure delivery honestly.

Ask about past behavior, rewrite leading questions, and end customer interviews with a concrete commitment that helps separate interest from demand.

Find early customers through permission-based conversations, relevant communities, and local connections, with a short and honest message template.

Map desirability, reachability, willingness to pay, and feasibility. Rank uncertain assumptions and choose the first test with a worked example.

Test demand with a landing page that says what is not built yet. Plan the offer, visitor sources, and actions worth measuring before you launch.

Compare business ideas with a four-dimension rubric, a worked scoring example, and separate risk checks before choosing one small test to run.

Learn why finance, health, and legal ideas need extra care, why they are not scored, and how to find qualified guidance before testing an offer.

Write pass and fail numbers before your idea test begins. Use clear denominators, deadlines, and next actions to avoid moving the goalposts.

Show a real price before building. Compare packages, no-payment reservations, deposits, and refundable pre-orders without misleading buyers.

Talk to small-business owners, find the budget holder, and test a bounded paid pilot before building software or treating interest as a sale.

Run a focused weekend test with honest outreach, a clear price, and a decision rule. Learn what to do in each block of your first 48 hours.

Test a physical product with labeled mockups, useful samples, and small local trials before buying inventory or promising production dates.

Sell a small service booking before building systems. Define the scope, compare hourly and package pricing, and calculate realistic capacity.

Test a business idea on a zero-dollar budget using conversations, existing tools, and manual delivery while keeping a clear limit on your time.

Understand the signal ladder from page views to payments. Learn why waitlist emails alone are weak evidence and how to ask for useful follow-up.

Read mixed validation signals, separate unclear messaging from a weak problem, and decide whether to continue, pivot, or stop using evidence.