Examination — Starting Small: From Idea to First Paying Customer

1.Four founders describe the problem they hope to build on. Which description is the strongest sign the problem is worth solving?

2.You sit down with a potential customer to learn about their problem. Which question keeps this a discovery interview rather than a pitch?

3.A busy dog owner keeps forgetting to reorder food and runs out on weekends. In one sentence, write a value proposition that names the one customer, the one pain, and the relief you offer.

4.You will sell a $30 reusable lunch kit to teachers at schools you can actually reach. There are 400 reachable schools, about 25 teachers each, and you honestly expect 1 in 10 to buy one kit in the first year. Built from the bottom up, how many kits is that in the first year?

5.Match each discovery question to the fact it is meant to uncover.

6.Your meal-kit idea rests on one shaky assumption: that strangers will trust a brand-new kitchen enough to order dinner. What is the right minimum viable product to test that first?

7.Which of these is the cheapest test that still produces a real signal about demand?

8.After a test week, four things happened. Which one is evidence rather than politeness?

9.Put one turn of the build-measure-learn loop in the order it should run.

1. ⋮⋮Ship the smallest version that tests the assumption ↑ ↓
2. ⋮⋮Watch what customers actually do, and record it ↑ ↓
3. ⋮⋮Decide the next change from what the numbers showed ↑ ↓

10.Your landing page drew heavy traffic, but only 1 in 500 visitors left a deposit — far below what the venture needs. In one sentence, name the decision this evidence points to and why.

11.A hand-bound notebook costs you $7 in materials and saves a stationery buyer roughly $25 worth of hassle. Where should your first price sit?

12.You have named your price to a customer's face. What closes the sale most reliably next?

13.For your first ten customers, what makes a good channel?

14.A ceramic mug costs you $6 to make and deliver. You decide each sale should leave you an $11 contribution margin. What price does that set?

15.Without looking back: after you name the price out loud, what is the one thing you should do, and why?

16.A jar of granola sells for $9. The oats, honey, jar, and label cost $3.50, and packing and postage add $1.50 per jar. What contribution margin does one sale leave behind?

17.The granola maker rents a certified kitchen for $480 a month. Each jar clears a $4 contribution margin. How many jars must sell in a month to break even?

18.Your books show a $2,000 profit for June, yet the bank balance fell that month. Which explanation fits?

19.You have delivered well to your first customer. What most reliably turns that one sale into the next ten?

20.In one sentence, say what belongs on the one-page plan you will actually reread, and why it keeps the venture honest.