What Your Prototype Is Actually Good For
A prototype is a conversation starter, not a finished product. Use it to learn, not to impress.
Good Uses
- Testing if people understand your value prop
- Seeing if the core flow makes sense
- Getting specific feedback on what's confusing
- Validating that the problem is worth solving
Bad Uses
- Trying to get paying customers
- Proving your whole business model
- Impressing people with polish
- Replacing actual user research
5 Scrappy Validation Tactics
- 1. Fake Door Test — Put a button for a feature. See how many click. Reveal it's 'coming soon.'
- 2. User Walkthrough — Share screen, ask them to complete a task, watch where they struggle.
- 3. Landing Page + Demo — Collect emails with your prototype embedded as the 'product preview.'
- 4. Investor/Accelerator Signal — A clickable demo in your application beats slides every time.
- 5. Customer Interview Prop — Show the prototype during discovery calls. 'Would this solve your problem?'
What Feedback Matters vs. What to Ignore
Signal (Listen)
- 'I don't understand what this does'
- 'I expected this button to do X'
- 'I would pay for this if it did Y'
- Specific behavior observations
Noise (Ignore)
- 'I don't like the color'
- 'Can you add [complex feature]?'
- 'This is cool!' (with no specifics)
- Feedback from friends/family
The most valuable feedback is confusion. If someone doesn't understand what your product does in 5 seconds, that's a problem to fix.