How to Know if Your Business Idea is Worth It in 15 Minutes

Do you know what's the most effective way to kill your entrepreneurial motivation?

Spending 6 months, 1 year, 2 years developing something that nobody will ever buy.

I've seen this dozens of times. And it's happened to me more than once too. Entrepreneurs with brilliant concepts who waste months building projects that will never generate income.

And the most painful part isn't the lost time or wasted money. It's how it destroys your self-esteem.

"Entrepreneurship isn't for me." And they resign themselves to working for someone else for the rest of their lives.

But here's the problem: it's not that you lack talent. It's that you don't know how to filter ideas before you start.

Why The Usual Advice Doesn't Work

"Go out and ask your potential customers."

"Launch a prototype and keep improving it based on feedback."

Fantastic advice... if you had all day free, a complete team, and plenty of capital.

But if you're like me—working 8+ hours daily with only a few free hours per week—you can't afford to spend half a year discovering that your idea doesn't work.

You need a system that discards projects destined to fail before you invest your limited time and energy.

The Definitive 4-Question Filter

If you can't answer "YES" emphatically to these 4 questions, forget the idea or change it until it works.

And please, be brutal with yourself. Self-compassion will only waste your time.

1. Are people spending money on this right now?

Forget asking if they would "be interested." The number of people who say "yes, I'd love that" and then disappear when it's time to pay would leave you speechless.

What matters is whether they're already opening their wallets for similar problems.

How to research it:

• Check Reddit forums searching for terms like "recommend" or "best tool for" in your niche
• See if there's competition doing the same or something very similar to your idea
• Look for courses on Udemy or products on Gumroad that address similar problems

If nobody's paying already, they probably never will.

Having competition is good—they've validated that people are willing to pay for what they offer.

2. Do you know 50 people who could buy from you tomorrow?

Betting your future on Facebook Ads or Google bringing you customers is like playing the lottery. Same as thinking becoming an influencer is easy to make clients rain down on you.

The real question is: "Do you have a list of 50 contacts you could write to right now?"

How to evaluate it:

• Review your LinkedIn contacts looking for relevant profiles
• Think about online communities where you already participate
• Consider your current email list (if you have one)

If your answer is "first I need to build an audience," you just added 12-24 extra months to your project and many headaches.

3. Can you summarize your proposal in less than 30 words?

If you need 3 paragraphs to explain what you do, you have a problem.

Your proposal should follow this structure: "[Your solution] helps [type of client] achieve [specific result] through [unique method]."

How to test it:

• Write it in maximum 30 words
• Avoid empty words like "innovative" or "revolutionary"
• Ask someone outside the sector if they understand it at first glance

4. Can you have something sellable in 7-14 days?

I'm not talking about the perfect final product, but something you can monetize immediately: a consultation, a mini-course, a template, an ebook...

If your "minimum version" (MVP - minimum viable product) requires 4 months of development, the risk is too high.

Options to start quickly:

• 1-on-1 consultation via (online or in-person)
• Downloadable PDF
• Mini video course with 3-5 lessons
• A crude but functional website with the bare minimum

I perfectly understand that you have a job, and you don't have 7 straight days for your new crazy idea.

But what about in two weeks? With your evenings and two weekends.

What about in 1 month if you only dedicate weekends to it?

What you need to avoid is letting it drag on over time. Make something viable with the little time you have available.

Example Cases Applying The Filter

Case A: Virtual Reality Meditation App

• Are people spending money? ❌ Popular meditation apps are free or very cheap
• Do you know 50 people? ❌ No connections in the wellness world
• Can you summarize it in 30 words? ✅ "Meditation app that uses virtual reality to create immersive relaxation experiences"
• Something sellable in 7 days? ❌ You need months to develop VR technology

Verdict: 1 out of 4. Discard or completely rethink.

Case B: Course for Freelancers on Rate Negotiation

• Are people spending money? ✅ Several similar courses are selling well on educational platforms
• Do you know 50 people? ✅ You have 150 freelancers in your LinkedIn network
• Can you summarize it in 30 words? ✅ "Course that teaches freelancers to double their rates without losing clients through proven negotiation techniques"
• Something sellable in 7 days? ✅ You can record 5 videos and create some templates this weekend

Verdict: 4 out of 4. Solid idea to develop.

Case C: Language Exchange Platform via Video Calls An English teacher with international experience wanted to create "the Tinder of language exchanges" with automatically scheduled video sessions.

• Are people spending money? ❌ Tandem, HelloTalk, and in-person exchanges work for free
• Do you know 50 people? ✅ Has students and contacts in language schools
• Can you summarize it in 30 words? ✅ "Platform that pairs people for language exchanges via automatically scheduled video calls"
• Something sellable in 7 days? ❌ Requires developing the entire matching and video call system

Verdict: 2 out of 4. Better to start organizing group exchanges via Zoom.

The Harsh Reality About Ideas

The problem isn't that you lack ideas. It's that you don't know which ones deserve your attention.

Being selective with your projects isn't being a coward. It's being smart.

Remember: it's not about never failing. It's about failing fast and cheap, so you can dedicate your energy to projects that actually have real possibilities.

Don't build first. Always validate before.

Because the most expensive mistake you can make isn't launching a business that fails. It's wasting 6 months building something nobody wants to buy.