MODULE 5 — Validating Willingness to Pay
Lesson 5.1: Payment Is a Behavior
Revenue is not monetisation.
It is validation.
If someone pays—even a small amount—they have crossed a psychological threshold.
Lesson 5.2: Pricing as a Test, Not a Commitment
You are not locking in pricing.
You are testing:
- Value perception
- Urgency
- Budget reality
Underpricing to “reduce friction” often reduces truth.
Lesson 5.3: Payment Proxies
If direct payment is difficult, test proxies:
- Deposits
- Pre-orders
- Letters of intent
- Budget approval steps
Anything that requires internal justification is valuable data.MODULE 6 — Manual Fulfilment & Concierge Validation
Lesson 6.1: Why Manual Beats Automated Early
Manual fulfilment:
- Reveals hidden complexity
- Exposes real user priorities
- Prevents overbuilding
Automation hides ignorance.
Lesson 6.2: Concierge MVPs
You deliver the outcome manually while pretending the system exists.
Examples:
- Reports created by hand
- Services coordinated manually
- Insights delivered via email
If users care about outcomes, they won’t care how it’s delivered—yet.
Lesson 6.3: When Manual Breaks
Manual delivery breaks when:
- Demand becomes repetitive
- Value is clear
- Bottlenecks are obvious
Only then is automation justified.MODULE 7 — Interpreting Validation Results
Lesson 7.1: Three Possible Outcomes
After validation, you will have one of three results:
- Clear Pull → Build
- Mixed Signals → Refine & re-test
- Weak Commitment → Stop or pivot
All three are success if learned early.
Lesson 7.2: Avoiding Narrative Bias
Founders often rationalise weak signals:
- “It’s early”
- “The timing is off”
- “They don’t get it yet”
Sometimes true. Often denial.
Evidence should reduce ambiguity—not increase explanation.
Lesson 7.3: The Discipline of Stopping
Stopping is not failure.
It is capital preservation.
Every month spent on a non-viable idea is a month stolen from a viable one.
Entrepreneur Edge 