You do not need a finished product to learn what users want. You need a clear problem, a simple way to show your idea, and real talks with real people. That is it. When you move with care at this stage, you save months of work, avoid waste, and build trust with the right users from day one.
Start With The Problem, Not The Product
Define one painful job to be done
Real feedback starts with a simple, sharp problem. Pick one job your user must do that hurts today. Write it in plain words. Keep it short. Say who, what, and why it matters. If you cannot state the pain in one line, the pain is not clear yet.
Stay here until it is crisp. This work may feel slow, but it saves you from long detours later.
Now test the pain without talking about your solution. Ask a few people who match your target to rate how much this job hurts them right now. Use a simple scale from not a problem to must fix now.
When more than half say must fix now, you have a strong base. If they shrug, go back and refine the problem statement. You are not trying to sell. You are trying to learn what matters enough that people will act.
Map the current workaround
Before you build, learn how users solve the pain today. Every pain has a workaround. It might be ugly, slow, or costly, but it works well enough to survive. Ask users to show you, step by step, how they handle the job now.
Watch for the steps they skip, the files they copy, the scripts they duct tape. These gaps reveal where value hides. They also hint at what you must not break if you later replace their flow.
As they walk through the workaround, time each step. Note handoffs. Count clicks. Count email threads. Count who waits and for how long. This is your baseline. Later, when you test your idea, you can compare.
If your idea does not cut time or risk in a clear way, it will not stick. Put numbers on the pain so your future wins have context.
Choose a single user and a single moment
A product for everyone serves no one. Pick one user persona and one moment where the pain spikes. A support agent during a live outage. A lab tech when a sample fails QC.
A warehouse supervisor when a pick list changes at 4 pm. Design all your early tests around that one moment. When you win there, you will earn the right to expand. Focus makes your outreach sharper and your signals cleaner.
If you are not sure which persona to pick, go where the cost of failure is highest. Urgent jobs get budget. Urgent jobs get attention. Urgent jobs also create the best test ground because people in pain are honest and direct. They will not spare your feelings. That is what you want now.
Show Value Without Writing Code
Use a one-page value narrative
You do not need screens to start. You need a story that makes sense to your user in less than two minutes. Write a one-page value narrative. Start with the moment of pain. Describe the cost of the current workaround.
Then show a simple before and after with your method in the middle. End with the outcome in numbers. Use words your users already say. Avoid buzzwords. Avoid claims you cannot later prove.
Read this page out loud to five target users. If they nod and add details from their world, you are close. If they ask what your product does, the story is still foggy. Trim and try again. Keep the one-page file nearby. It will anchor your talks, your outreach, and your tests.
Create a clickable sketch
Next, make a low fidelity clickable sketch. Use simple boxes and labels. No colors. No design polish. The goal is to make your method visible and discussable. Each click should show a step in the flow from start to finish.
Keep it short. Five to seven screens is plenty. If you need more, your flow is too complex for the first pass.
Put this sketch on your laptop or tablet. Sit with users and ask them to click through while thinking out loud. Do not pitch. Do not defend. Just listen and note where they pause or look confused.
Ask what they expected to happen at each step. The gap between what they expect and what you show is your roadmap.
Use concierge delivery to simulate the product
A concierge test is when you do the work by hand while the user sees the output as if from a product. This is the fastest way to test value. Pick a narrow, high pain use case. Offer to handle it end to end for a small group for one week.
Use your own tools behind the scenes. Use scripts, spreadsheets, and manual checks. The user should only see inputs and outputs. If the value is real, they will not care that you are the engine for now.
Set a clear contract. Define success in simple terms like hours saved, errors reduced, or dollars recovered. Agree on the start and stop dates. Charge a small fee if you can. Even a token fee makes the signal stronger.
At the end, share the before and after with numbers. Ask if they want another week. If they say yes and the data is strong, you have proof worth sharing with buyers and investors.
If you worry about IP while you run a concierge test, protect the core parts of your method. At Tran.vc, we help founders file fast, narrow patents that cover the key steps of a novel method or system. If you want that help as you test, you can apply at https://www.tran.vc/apply-now-form/.
Talk To Users The Right Way
Ask about the past, not the future
People are kind and want to be helpful. If you ask would you use this, many will say yes and never follow through.
The fix is simple. Ask about the last time they faced the problem. Ask what they did, how long it took, who was involved, and what went wrong. Facts from the recent past are strong signals. Hopes about the future are not.
When they share a story, dig into details. Ask for examples. Ask to see the email chain. Ask for a copy of the template or the log file. Do this with respect and care. When you see real artifacts, you learn the truth about their flow and constraints.
These details feed your design and your test plan.
Listen for budget, authority, and timing
Real feedback has a buyer inside it. As you talk, listen for three things. Budget means they have a line item or a way to spend. Authority means they can say yes or can bring the person who can.
Timing means the pain is urgent enough that change will happen soon. If you hear all three, you have a live prospect. If one is missing, you still have a user, but you may need to find the buyer next.
Ask simple, honest questions. How do you buy tools like this today. Who signs. When does the budget reset. What must be true before a change can ship. When people answer with calm and detail, you are near a real deal path.
Note names and steps. Your future pilots and letters of intent will move faster because you mapped the path early.
Write a short research memo after each call
After every talk, write a one-page memo. Include the problem summary, the current workaround, the numbers you heard, the decision path, and the must-have features in their words.
Add two lines on what surprised you and what you will change next. Keep these memos in one folder. Over time, patterns will pop. You will see the same phrases and the same blockers. That is your cue to tighten your narrative and your test design.
This memo is also gold for your team and for friends who help. You can share a few memos to brief a mentor or an advisor. You can use them to ask for intros to the right buyers.
When you later raise a seed, a stack of clear memos shows you learned in the field, not in a lab. If you want help shaping what to protect as you learn, Tran.vc can step in with in-kind IP work. Apply at https://www.tran.vc/apply-now-form/.
Build A Simple Proof Engine
Define a small set of hard metrics
Pick two or three metrics that prove value. Time saved per case. Error rate drop. Units processed per hour. Choose numbers you can verify with logs or files. Avoid vanity counts like signups that do not tie to the core job.
Your tests will live or die by these metrics. Make them simple, hard, and fair.
Write down the baseline before any test starts. Use real data from the user’s current flow. Then set a target you believe you can hit in two weeks. Do not promise the moon. Aim for a clear, modest win that a buyer cannot ignore.
Ten to thirty percent gains are strong at this stage. If you can do better, great, but do not claim it until you see it.
Create a manual back end with fast loops
You can run strong tests with a manual back end. Use a shared inbox for inputs. Use a simple sheet or a notebook database to track status. Use small scripts to clean and transform data. Focus on accuracy and speed.
When something breaks, fix it by hand and note the gap. That gap becomes a future feature. Keep loops tight. Aim for same day turnarounds so users feel the impact while the pain is fresh.
As you run, tag each case with a reason code. Why did this work. Why did this fail. Which edge case hurt. This is not busy work. Reason codes help you spot the few changes that unlock big wins.
They also help you decide what to automate first when you move from manual to semi-automated.
Share weekly scorecards
Once a week, share a one-page scorecard with your test users. Include the agreed metrics, the before and after, and two notes on what you changed. Keep the tone calm and factual. Invite direct feedback.
When users see steady gains, trust grows. They will bring more cases. They will invite peers. They may even offer to pay more. At this point, ask for a short letter of intent with the scope, the price range, and the decision path. You now have social proof without a product.
If you want to turn this proof into IP that blocks fast followers, consider filing a provisional on the core method and data flow you refined during the tests. Tran.vc funds and delivers this work in-kind so you can keep building while we protect your edge.
If you want that support, you can apply at https://www.tran.vc/apply-now-form/.
Find And Recruit The Right Users Fast
Go where the pain lives
Do not wait for users to find you. Go to the places where the job breaks. Join niche forums. Search for error messages and incident posts. Read public runbooks and vendor docs.
Reach out to authors with a short, respectful note that names the pain and your idea to help. Keep it human. Make a clear ask for fifteen minutes to learn. Offer to share a short summary back so they get value too.
Warm intros still work best. Ask past coworkers, advisors, or friendly investors who matches this pain. Send them your one-page value narrative and a three line ask they can forward.
Make it easy to say yes. Suggest a time. Keep the tone light. Do not ask for permission to sell. Ask for a chance to learn and test in a way that helps them today.
Use public demos that invite feedback
If you can show a safe, scrubbed version of your flow, do a short public demo over video. Keep it under ten minutes. Show the painful moment, then show your method handling one real case end to end.
Share a link to a simple form where viewers can raise their hand for a pilot. Limit the slots. Scarcity helps you focus on the best fits. Record the session, clip the best parts, and share them with your next outreach wave.
You can also create a simple waitlist page with three fields. Email, role, and the pain score from not a problem to must fix now. Add a free text box for the last time they felt the pain.
People who write detailed stories are your best leads. Follow up with them first.
Offer a low risk pilot with a clear outcome
When a lead is warm, propose a two week pilot. State the scope, the metrics, and the weekly scorecard. Promise a short write-up at the end with the results and a go or no-go call. If it works, you both win.
If it does not, they get a clean report and you get to learn. This reduces fear and speeds yes. Keep pilots small at first. One team. One flow. One metric that matters.
At the end of the pilot, aim for a yes on one of three paths. Pay to continue while you build. Sign a letter of intent with a price range and date. Or agree to be a named design partner you can cite.
Any of these signals make your case stronger for future sales and for a seed raise.
If you want help turning pilot wins into IP that investors respect, Tran.vc is set up for that. We invest up to $50,000 of in-kind patent and IP services to protect the core of your method while you grow. You can apply at https://www.tran.vc/apply-now-form/.
Design Small, Honest Experiments
Pick one clear question per test
Each test should answer one question. Keep it small. Keep it sharp. Ask if users understand the promise. Ask if they will share data. Ask if they will pay to skip a painful step.
When you try to answer many questions at once, you get noise. When you answer one, you gain a brick you can build on. Write your question at the top of your test plan. When the test ends, write the answer in one line. Move on.
Set tight bounds and a simple rule to win
Every test needs bounds. State who is in, what is in scope, and how long you will run. Use a simple rule to call it a win. For example, five cold emails that lead to three calls this week means your message works.
Ten trial cases with under five percent error means your method is sound. A buyer who agrees to a paid extension means value is clear. If you do not set the rule in advance, you will argue with your own hopes. Clear rules force clear choices.
Use fake doors to check demand
A fake door is a simple page or link that promises a feature and invites people to click. When they click, you tell them the feature is in progress and ask if they want to talk or join a pilot.
This is a clean way to learn if people care before you build. Keep the copy plain. Name the job, the outcome, and the one edge that makes your method different. Place these doors where real users hang out, not where founders hang out.
Track views and clicks. If few click, your message or your value is off. If many click, reach out fast while interest is fresh.
Run price tests early
Price is part of value. Do not wait to test it. Offer two or three price points for the same scope across similar leads. Keep the scope clear and the time window short. When a buyer picks a higher price with no pushback, you learn the pain is high and your value is strong.
When a buyer balks at even a low price, you learn you need more proof or a tighter scope. Write down what words the buyer used when they said yes or no. Those words will help you tune your pitch and your terms.
Offer deposits or pre-pay for a pilot
Nothing beats a small deposit. Even a modest pre-pay for a pilot is a strong sign. It says the pain is real and your promise is clear. If a buyer says they need to wait for budget, suggest a smaller start today. A small start lets you show results fast.
It also gives your champion a win they can share up the chain. Keep deposits simple. Set a fixed price, fixed scope, and a clear outcome. If you miss, offer to refund or extend at no charge.
Many will choose the extension. You win twice. You learn more and you build trust.
Create Artifacts Users Can React To
Storyboards and day-in-the-life notes
A storyboard is a simple set of frames that show a user’s day before and after your method. Make it with boxes and captions. Show the key moments, the handoffs, and the time lost today. Then show the same day with your method in place.
Bring the storyboard to calls. Ask users to point at frames that feel true and frames that feel wrong. Change the frames. By the end of a week, you will have a story that rings true. That story pulls people in and makes feedback flow.
Data walkthroughs with real but safe samples
Ask users for scrubbed data from one real case. If they cannot share, create a close mirror based on your notes. Walk through what your method would do with that data. Show each step. Show how you would flag risk, save time, or raise an alert.
Ask where they would add a check. Ask where they would ignore your output. These details show you what to build and what to automate later. They also reveal the edge cases that can break trust. Write them down. Design guardrails around them.
Shadow sessions and ride-alongs
If possible, sit with a user while they do the job. Watch the screen. Watch the chat rooms. Watch the meetings. Do not talk much. Notice the pauses and the sighs. Notice the tricks they use to speed up.
Ask short questions. Why did you click there. Why did you skip that step. This is where you learn the unwritten rules. Many great products come from a small thing you only see when you sit next to the work.
If you cannot be there in person, ask for a recording of their screen during one case. Promise to keep it private. Share a short write-up of what you saw. This gives them value fast and earns you a second call.
Conclusion
Real feedback without a product is not a trick. It is a posture. It says you will face the market with open eyes and a clear head. It says you will let users teach you, then you will ship what helps and protect what matters.
Do this for a few weeks and you will have something rare at the pre-seed stage. You will have truth, speed, and a small moat forming around your method. That is the ground where good seed rounds grow. That is how lasting companies start.
If this guide spoke to you and you want help turning your early proof into a defensible edge, Tran.vc is ready. We invest up to $50,000 of in-kind patent and IP services so you can build with confidence and keep control. You can apply anytime at https://www.tran.vc/apply-now-form/.