How do you approach validation when the users of your product and the customers are different?

For context, I’m building a social impact start up focused on an acute problem for low-income families. We have piloted the product with no code tools and have had 20 users plus 80+ waitlist sign ups in a few weeks.

However, our customers will be businesses that benefit from the increase spend of these families at their stores. How would you go about validating the business model when you know the users want it, but not sure for customers? For early sales conversations, do you always show a prototype? Or do you just verbally pitch the product and get feedback on willingness to pay?

  • Glad_Supermarket_450@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    They’re both customers because they’re both paying, one with money & one with time. In this case you’re a middle man & your job is to appease both parties.

    How? If you had a few hundred, maybe a few thousand(dependent on store size) users that used your app you would have some swinging room.

    So you need to either come up with a new strategy or pivot.

    What I would do? Spitballing without knowing anything

    • Get the first store onboard at no cost to them as a case study.
    • If it fails, but the stores are still interested then you continue.
    • Maybe you need to do that a few times.
    • But if you could get a single store & use them as the incentive for more users, then that would do the trick.
    • then you could sign more stores & get members simultaneously