Case Study: How We Used SegmentOS to Validate SegmentOS (And Got a 90% "Go" Signal)

Staring at a blank survey builder is the writer's block of the startup world.

You know you need to validate your idea, but asking the wrong questions leads to bad data. If you ask, "Would you buy this?" people will lie to be nice. If you ask, "How much would you pay?" they will lowball you.

To get the truth, you need to ask about past behaviors and current pain.

Here is the exact question set we use at SegmentOS to help founders validate SaaS ideas. Copy, paste, and launch.

The "Problem Discovery" Questions

Don't mention your product yet. Focus on their pain.

1. "What is the hardest part about [Task X]?"

• Type: Open-ended.

  
  

• Goal: To get "Voice of Customer" data for your marketing copy.

2. "How are you currently solving this problem?"

• Options: Excel / Competitor X / Hiring a Freelancer / I just ignore it.

  
  

• Goal: To identify your actual competition. (Hint: It’s usually Excel).

3. "When was the last time you tried to solve this problem?"

• Options: Today / Last Week / Last Month / Never.

  
  

• Goal: If they haven't tried to solve it recently, it’s not a burning problem.

The "Solution Fit" Questions

Now, introduce your concept.

4. "If you had a magic wand to fix this problem, what is the one thing it would do?"

• Goal: Feature prioritization.

5. "How disappointed would you be if you could no longer use [Competitor/Current Solution]?"

• Goal: To gauge how "sticky" the current market leader is.

6. [Show Concept Image] "What is the most unclear or confusing part of this concept?"

• Goal: To fix your messaging before you write code.