How to Talk to Customers & Validate Your Business Idea in 1 Session

Learn how to effectively communicate with customers and validate your business idea in just one session!

By Walt Schlender

Date and time

Saturday, June 7 · 6 - 7:30pm PDT

Location

Online

About this event

Event lasts 1 hour 30 minutes

Join us for an interactive online class where you’ll learn a simple process to validate a new business idea—fast.

You have a business idea, but are you building something people actually want? And who are those people? How will you reach them? And will they pay for your idea?

Getting these answers wrong can cost you months, even years, building something that won’t sell.

The best way to find out? Talk to customers early.

Customer conversations help you:

• Quickly confirm if your idea is worth pursuing—and what people will pay

• Know exactly what to build, and who will buy it

• Find early reference customers who’ll give feedback, even if the product isn’t perfect

• Make sure you can actually reach your market

In this session, we’ll cover how to:

Turn your idea into a clear offer you can give to potential customers
Find a group of people to pitch your offer to
Ask the right questions to validate (or invalidate) your idea

These three steps are all you need to start validating. The process is fast and effective—but the details matter.

I’m Walt, your guide for this session. I got my start in Silicon Valley startups, then set out to build my own products. I could build anything—but building something people wanted was a whole different challenge. Eventually, I figured out how to find early customers, and started helping others do the same.

Since then, I’ve helped companies validate ideas and land their first customers—across different industries and in different countries.

Validating an idea early is powerful, life-changing even. Join us to learn how to do it—fast.

Whether you’re a founder, entrepreneur, or just exploring ideas, this event is for you.

Frequently asked questions

Will there be time to ask questions / talk about specific ideas?

Yes, we will reserve some time at the end to answer specific questions about ways to approach specific kinds of customers.

If I'm building something for myself does validation help me?

Yes, validation is VERY important for people building something for themselves. Building something for yourself doesn't prove that you know how to reach other people who would want your product (there's a market), and it doesn't validate that people would pay for it...

Is my product idea any good?

There are markets for problems not products. It's really important to think; "Are there people who have the problem I'm solving? Who are they? Where are they?"... it's this thought process that helps you find a product.

I tried validation before (I had a bunch of conversations with potential customers) and didn't work

When I first started doing validation I had open-ended conversations with customers and had the same problem. Later I learned how to have a different kind of conversation with customers that was much more effective. Come to the class and learn what's worked for me.

Organized by

Walt Schlender

I’m Walt. I got my start in Silicon Valley working with fast-moving startups—but the real challenge began when I started building my own products. I could build anything… but building something people wanted? That took a whole new skill set.

Over time, I learned how to validate ideas quickly, find early customers, and turn raw concepts into real, sellable products. Since then, I’ve helped entrepreneurs across industries and countries do the same.

I’m passionate about business strategy, software engineering, and marketing—and I love connecting with fellow builders. If you’re working on something or just want to chat ideas, my door’s always open.

FreeJun 7 · 6:00 PM PDT