₹1 Lakh Store
⌘K
GETTING STARTED
FIND — Get an Idea
VALIDATE — Hit PMF (Phase 3)
    • Validation Framework
    • Pre-Launch Landing Page
    • First 10 Customers
    • Customer Discovery Interviews
    • WhatsApp Validation
    • PMF Signals Checklist
    • Pivot or Persevere
    • Kill Criteria
UNIT ECONOMICS — First (Phase 4)
SCALE — Build to ₹1L/mo
AI & AUTOMATION
ANALYTICS & DATA
FINANCE
TOOLS & CALCULATORS
RESOURCES
  1. VALIDATE — Hit PMF (Phase 3)
  3. Validation Framework

VALIDATE — Demand Validation

Don't build what nobody wants

The #1 reason D2C founders fail: they skip validation. They pick a product, invest ₹50K, launch, and hear crickets. This framework forces you to prove demand exists before you spend a single rupee on brand, supply chain, or store setup.
3 Validation Stages₹3,000-8,000 Budget5-10 Day SprintGo/No-Go Decision

80%

Who Skip This

And waste their budget

₹3K-8K

Validation Budget

Test before you invest

5-10

Days to Validate

Fast experiment cycles

Break-even

Min ROAS Signal

Calculate in ROAS Calculator before scaling

Stop here if you haven't validated yet. If you're in the FIND stage and have a product idea, use the Demand Validation SOP first. Do not move to Brand, Store, or Marketing until you see real purchase intent from real people.

₹0

is what your idea is worth without validation

Revenue proves demand. Everything else is opinion.

The 3-Stage Validation Framework

1

Interest Test

₹2,000 ad spend. 5-7 days. Do people click?

2

Intent Test

₹3,000-5,000 ad spend. 3-5 days. Do people add to cart or give email?

3

Purchase Test

₹5,000-8,000 total. Pre-orders or first 10-20 sales. Do people pay?

Stage 1: Interest Test

Before you build anything, test if anyone cares. Run a simple ad to a landing page describing your product. No inventory needed. No supplier needed. Just a description and a photo.

WhatHowBudgetTimelinePass Signal
Landing Page1-product page with price & CTA₹0 (Shopify 3-day free trial or Carrd)1-2 daysPage live
Meta Ad3-5 ad creatives, ₹200/day, 5 days₹1,000-2,0005-7 daysCTR > 1.5%
Google TrendsSearch interest for your category₹01 hourRising/Stable
Amazon/Meesho CheckExisting product search volume & reviews₹02-3 hours100+ reviews
Min signal to proceed: CTR > 1.5% AND at least 50-clicks on your ad. If you can't get clicks, the product idea doesn't have enough pull.

Stage 2: Intent Test

People clicked. Now do they want it enough to act? This stage adds a CTA — email signup, WhatsApp message, or add-to-cart — to measure real purchase intent.

WhatHowBudgetPass Signal
Email/WhatsApp SignupRun ad to waitlist page. Collect emails or WhatsApp numbers.₹3,000-5,000 ad spend5%+ signup rate
Pre-Order TestList product at full price. Capture intent without charging.₹2,000-4,000 ad spend10+ pre-orders
Instagram PollPoll your target audience. Ask what they'd pay.₹0-50030+ responses
Beware of false positives. Friends saying "nice idea" is NOT validation. Only strangers giving you their email or money counts. If your signup rate is below 3%, pivot.

Stage 3: Purchase Test

The only validation that matters: do people pay? Get your first 10-20 orders. This is where you prove your product, price, and positioning work together.

WhatHowBudgetPass Signal
First 10 SalesBuy 30-50 units from supplier. Launch to waitlist + ads.₹5,000-8,000 (ads only)10+ paid orders
ROAS CheckTrack ad spend vs revenue. Break-even ROAS = 1 ÷ Contribution Margin % (use the ROAS Calculator).Included aboveROAS > break-even
RTO CheckOf first orders, what % is returned? Track from ship to deliver.₹0 (just track)RTO < 30%
You've achieved PMF when: 10+ strangers paid you, ROAS is consistently above your break-even ROAS (not a fixed number — calculate it in the ROAS Calculator), and RTO < 30%. For most products with 35–45% contribution margin, break-even ROAS is 2.2–2.8x. ROAS of 1.5x means you're losing money on every ad-driven order — that is a signal to keep testing, not permission to scale. Now — and only now — proceed to the SCALE stage (Brand → Legal → Supply Chain → Store → Ops → Marketing → CX).

What Happens If You Fail

Pivot

Your product idea didn't work, but the category might. Change one thing: product, audience, price, or channel. Then re-run the validation from Stage 1.

Pivot or Persevere Framework →

Kill

Sometimes the best move is to stop. If you've failed 2-3 validation tests in the same category, it's time to pick a new product entirely.

Kill Criteria Checklist →

Next Step

Check your product against PMF signals before investing further.

PMF Signals Checklist →