An idea is not a plan. Treat it like a hire: it has to survive a few blunt questions. If you cannot answer them in plain language, you do not have a business yet — you have a wish.
#Who pays?
Name a role, not a demographic. “SMEs in Vietnam” is everyone. “The founder of a 10-person agency who still waits on the accountant to issue VAT invoices” is a customer.
If the buyer is not the user, write both down. The person who feels the pain and the person who signs the transfer are often different.
#How do they already spend?
Look for money already moving: a salary, a software bill, an agency retainer, late fees, idle cash. You are replacing a cost or unlocking cash they cannot reach today. “They would probably pay” is not evidence.
#Can they pay you in a way you can invoice?
In Vietnam, many B2B buyers need a VAT invoice (Hóa đơn GTGT) before they can record the purchase. If your first customers are companies, you will need a company that can issue those invoices — see Start a company. If your first customers are consumers who never ask for an invoice, the path is different, and Invoi is not that product yet.
#Would they wait?
If the customer can delay the purchase for a quarter and nothing breaks, the pain is mild. Strong ideas sit on a clock: payroll, a tax deadline, a customer who will not pay until they have the invoice, a project that cannot start until a quote is out.
#What is the smallest proof?
You do not need an app to test most ideas. A manual version counts: you do the job for two or three customers, they pay, they come back. If that loop does not close, software will not save it.
#Next
- Wedge market — shrink the first market until you can win
- Startup ideas — where to look if nothing survives these questions