Remember the first gate we want to pass with this new product idea: Idea is business viable. All the activities in this stage focus on testing the idea's business viability.

In this stage, we’re mixing product and business frameworks to ensure the product’s business foundations are sound.

We’re in the hard learning and exploring mode. We’re testing the waters and trying to define the business case for the idea.

This is the list of key learnings we need to obtain and answers to these questions that would signal the idea is business viable.

• What is the market size? → The more the merrier, and the higher the purchasing power, the better.
• Do potential customers want this? → This should be a resounding yes.
• Why do potential customers want this? → It should be aligned with our hypothesis, and it should be a considerable pain point.
• Is someone else doing the same or a similar thing? → The good answer here is “no”. We want to be working in a market of one.
• How do we monetize the product? → A clear plan needs to be devised.