FIG. 01 — VALIDATE · STAGES 01 ENDGAME + 02 EVIDENCE
Know if it’s worth building — in one week.
You have an idea, a budget, and a chorus of people saying “go for it” — none of whom have paid you a dollar. The Product Discovery Sprint puts your idea in front of real buyers for one week and ends with a written verdict: build it, change it, or kill it — scored against thresholds we publish before testing starts. You’ll know. Either way, you’ll know.
FIG. 02 — DISQUALIFICATION LEDGER
This week is for some people. Not everyone.
- [✓]You have an idea and a budget, but no external validation — only encouragement.
- [✓]You’re about to spend $100k+ building and can’t yet name 5 people who’d pay.
- [✓]You’re an operator who suspects, but can’t prove, an internal tool is worth building.
- [✓]You’ve been told “just build it” by everyone except a paying customer.
- [✓]You want a written go / go-with-changes / kill verdict you can defend to co-founders or a board.
- [−]You already have paying users and usage data — go straight to the 4-Week MVP Sprint.
- [−]You want validation theater: a document that says GO no matter what the buyers say.
- [−]You can’t give us audience access — customer lists, intros, or a small ad budget — by Day 1.
- [−]You need design or code this week. Discovery contains zero of either, deliberately.
- [−]You’d negotiate a KILL into a GO. The thresholds are published before testing; they don’t move.
FIG. 03 — FIVE WORKING DAYS
Monday you name your fears. Friday you get the truth.
The agenda is fixed because the deadline is the method: five days is enough to test your three riskiest assumptions — and short enough that nobody can hide from the verdict.
- MON
Your riskiest assumptions, named
A two-hour Endgame workshop turns your idea into an Omega Statement draft: users, jobs-to-be-done, launch-day definition, success metrics, non-goals. Your three riskiest assumptions get written down as claims that can fail — and a test is designed for each.
OUTPUT: OMEGA STATEMENT DRAFT · 3 ASSUMPTIONS UNDER TEST
- TUE
Interviews booked, tests go live
Your demand test launches — smoke page, concierge offer, or pre-order, whichever fits your buyer. 5–10 buyer interviews are booked from your lists and our sourcing, and the first ones run.
OUTPUT: DEMAND TEST LIVE · INTERVIEWS BOOKED
- WED
Interviews + the demand test, running
Real buyers talk. Every interview is coded for problem severity, current spend, and buying intent — signals, not vibes — while the demand test gathers real traffic in the background.
OUTPUT: CODED INTERVIEWS 3–6 OF 10
- THU
The pricing test
The remaining interviews land, and the question you’ve been avoiding gets tested directly: will they pay, and how much — by direct offer against the interview pool or test traffic.
OUTPUT: PRICING EVIDENCE · INTERVIEW SET COMPLETE
- FRI▪ VERDICT
The Evidence Ledger + your verdict
The Evidence Ledger is compiled and scored against the published thresholds. You get the verdict in writing — GO / GO-WITH-CHANGES / KILL — and a 30-minute readout. If GO: a scoped, priced Sprint proposal, ready to start.
OUTPUT: EVIDENCE LEDGER · SIGNED VERDICT MEMO
Verdict issued day 5 · No extensions without a written scope change
FIG. 04 — THE ARTIFACTS
Paper you can act on. Whatever the verdict.
Your end state, signed
One page: users, jobs-to-be-done, launch-day definition, success metrics, non-goals. Signed by both sides. If we build, this is what “done” means.
The evidence, coded and numbered
Demand-test numbers, 5–10 coded buyer interviews, pricing evidence, competitive reality, a data appendix. Every claim traceable to a recording or a number.
The same ledger, when the answer is no
A kill trigger fired. The full Ledger is still yours, with a written “what would need to be true” memo attached — and your $7,500 credit stays live.
All three verdicts are real: GO / GO-WITH-CHANGES / KILL · A GO you can’t trust is worth $0
FIG. 05 — THE MATH, PLAINLY
$7,500 to not spend $150,000 building the wrong thing.
A four-week build is $39,500. An agency version of the same mistake runs $100,000–$150,000 and six months. Discovery is the cheapest test you can buy: one week, real buyers, a verdict in writing.
If the evidence says kill, we say kill. You’ll have spent $7,500 to save the rest — and both outcomes are wins. The only losing move is skipping the week and finding out at launch.
- DISCOVERY
- $7,500
- MVP SPRINT
- $39,500
- THE WRONG BUILD
- $100,000–$150,000
The $7,500 fee is credited 100% against a 4-Week MVP Sprint booked within 12 months — including after a KILL verdict. Validation is never sunk cost.
100% up front · One invoice · Card or wire · Work starts on receipt
FIG. 06 — ASKED EVERY WEEK
Questions founders actually ask.
What if the verdict is “kill”?
You saved the build budget. You keep the full Evidence Ledger and a written memo on what would need to be true. The $7,500 still credits 100% against a future Sprint within 12 months.
How is this different from market research?
Research describes a market. We run tests: real buyers, real offers, costly actions — pre-orders, LOIs, deposits. The verdict follows published thresholds, not opinion.
We already talked to users. Why pay for this?
Friendly conversations aren’t evidence. We code interviews for severity, current spend, and intent — and we test pricing, which founders almost never do.
Can you kill an idea we love?
Yes, and we have. The thresholds are on the method page, set before testing starts. If we could be talked out of a kill, the go would be worthless.
What happens after a GO?
You start a 4-Week MVP Sprint with the fee credited, the Omega Statement signed, and Week-1 evidence already banked — the fastest possible start.
FIG. Ω — THE END STATE
One week. One verdict. Then you’ll know.
Thirty minutes. We work on your product — sketch the Omega Statement, pressure-test the idea, and tell you honestly whether it’s worth building. If we’re not the right studio, we’ll say that too.