Validate your college startup idea in 7 days

  How to Run Problem Interviews That Actually Tell You Something Before building anything, talk to people. Most founders ask leading questions that confirm what they already believe. Here’s how to conduct problem interviews that produce real insights: 1. Define Your Hypothesis Clearly Write what you believe to be true. Example: “College students struggle to manage time between classes and side projects.” 2. Build an Interview Script Around the Past Use past-behavior questions, not “Would you use?” Ask: “Tell me about the last time you faced [problem].” “What did you try? What worked/failed?” “How often does this happen?” 3. Interview at Least 10–15 People Mix: students from different years, professors/mentors, someone outside your target. Keep short and conversational. 4. Record, Then Summarize Patterns Jot down: problem severity, frequency, alternatives, emotion-rich quotes. Look for repeating patterns (3+ times). 5. Validate with a Quick Landing Page Summarize the problem, create...

Validate Your College Startup Idea in 7 Days — A Practical Guide for Students Ideas are cheap. Validation isn’t. If you’re in a college E-Cell and want to know whether your startup idea has real legs, you don’t need months — you need a week of focused experiments and conversations. Here’s a step-by-step 7-day plan you can run with your team (no funding required). Day 0 — Prep (30–60 minutes) Write a 1-sentence value statement : “We help [target user] do [benefit] by [how].” Pick one core assumption to test (demand, pricing, usability, or distribution). Assign roles: interviewer, note-taker, prototype owner, outreach manager. Day 1 — Problem Interviews (2–4 hours) Goal: confirm the problem exists and is painful. Do 8–12 short (5–10 min) interviews on campus and online. Ask open questions: “Tell me about the last time you faced [problem]. What did you do?” Don’t sell; listen. Record patterns and pain intensity (mild / annoying / urgent). Deliverable:  8-12 interview notes + 3 recurr...