The number one reason startups fail isn’t lack of funding or poor marketing. Startups often fail because they build something that no one wants. That truth can sting, especially when you’ve poured your time and energy into a business idea. But it’s also why the I-Corps process is so powerful. It forces us to pause, step back, and ask the most important question first: Who exactly are we building this for?
The road map in the I-Corps program is Steve Blank’s Business Model Canvas. It helps you visualize your entire business on a single page. You can map out everything from customer segments, value propositions, channels, cost structures, revenue streams, and more. But in the beginning, every single box is filled with guesses. The canvas is just a set of hypotheses waiting to be tested. That’s where customer discovery comes in.
Our I-Corps instructors often say that you have to “get out of the building.” That means leaving the comfort of your desk and talking to the people you think you’re serving. Not pitching or selling, just listening. These interviews are designed to uncover whether the problem you think exists is really a problem, and if so, whether it matters enough that people would pay for a solution.
It’s not always easy. Sometimes the answers shake your confidence. But that’s the point. Validating (or invalidating) your assumptions early on is far less painful and less expensive than building a product no one will buy.
Customer discovery doesn’t guarantee success, but it gives you the clarity you need to avoid the biggest pitfalls in starting a business—building something no one wants. The process is less about proving your idea right and more about uncovering the truth.
So if you’re sitting on a new business idea, don’t start by asking, “How do I build this?” Start by asking, “Who am I building this for, and what do they actually need?”
