From an idea to a decision you can trust
Over six weeks, you will work through the questions that determine whether an idea could become a real business. You will examine the business itself, speak to potential customers, test the proposed solution, look for genuine demand and build something tangible enough to learn from.
By the end, you will have the evidence to decide whether to build, pivot or stop.
Starts September 9 · Around 3-6 hours most weeks · Part-time · Completely free
What the six weeks involve
This is real zero-to-one work, not a business-planning exercise. Each week is built around a question you can only answer by doing something outside your own head: speaking to customers, putting an offer in front of people, testing demand or building a first version.
Every week ends with concrete work you can keep, as well as a judgment about what the evidence supports. The exact tests will differ depending on the idea, but the standard is the same: real signals from real people rather than assumptions or encouraging feedback from friends.
The method can be applied to software, services, marketplaces, communities, consumer products and businesses that combine several of these. Depending on the idea, what you create may be a prototype, a manually delivered service, a pilot, a mock-up or a first usable version.
How AI fits into the work
AI will help you move faster through research, preparation, transcription, synthesis, experiment creation and prototyping. It will not decide whether the problem matters, interpret every customer reaction for you or tell you whether to build the business. The judgment and decisions are always yours.
Every framework, template, system and AI agent used in the challenge comes from methods I use in my own work and in advising founders, CEOs and investors.
The six weeks in detail
Each week focuses on a different part of the business. Open any week to see the work you will complete and the decisions you will need to make.
How each week works
The program has been designed to fit alongside a job, studying, parenting or caring responsibilities. This is an intentional part of the challenge, because many people carrying worthwhile ideas cannot put the rest of their lives on hold to explore them.
Lessons can be listened to, and many planning and reflection exercises can be completed by speaking, on a walk, a commute or the school run. Customer conversations, experiments and building will still require some focused time.
Expect to spend around three to six hours most weeks, with some variation depending on your idea and the stage of the challenge.
- 01Monday
The week's challenge arrives in your inbox with detailed instructions and a clear explanation of what you are setting out to do.
- 02Through the week
You run the tests and build the evidence. Throughout the week, you can also follow the same work being applied to a real idea I am developing, including the decisions, experiments, false starts and results.
- 03Weekend
There is a participant-only Q&A where you can review what you have learned, ask questions and get help with anything that is blocking your progress.
- 04By Sunday
You assess the evidence against the week's standard and decide what appears supported, what remains uncertain and what needs to be taken into the following week.
If you have an idea you are ready to take seriously
You do not need to quit your job, raise money or already know how to build. You need an idea you are willing to test honestly and enough time to do the work each week. Stop wondering what if.
The What If Challenge starts September 9.
Believe more people should have the opportunity to build?
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