Start With One: How to Validate a Business Idea by Solving One Person’s Problem

Grace Umeadi
1 day ago
2 min read

Instead of obsessing over scaling from day one, learn how to test your business concept by solving a real problem for one customer—then using that success to grow strategically.

If you can’t sell your solution to one person, why try selling it to a thousand?

This is the premise behind one of the most effective, sanity-preserving approaches to starting a business: solve a real problem for one real person.

Not “target personas.” Not “imagined markets.” Just one. It’s the antidote to the pressure of launching with a logo, website, pitch deck, and five-year projections—all before your idea has faced the world once.

This “Start With One” method isn’t just cheaper. It’s smarter.

MVP Strategy That Actually Makes Sense

Instead of launching a full-blown product, smart entrepreneurs build a simple version called a minimum viable product (MVP). But even MVPs are often overengineered. A landing page and a Stripe button might be all you need.

As Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup, put it: “The only way to win is to learn faster than anyone else.” And nothing accelerates learning faster than building for an actual human who has an actual problem.

Why This Works—By the Numbers

According to a study by CB Insights, the top reason startups fail—cited in 42% of cases—is “no market need.” In other words, they built something no one wanted. That’s a painful, expensive lesson you can avoid by testing with just one early adopter first.

Start with a Human, Not a Hypothesis

Find someone with a problem you think you can solve. Maybe it’s a friend whose insurance paperwork is a mess. Maybe it’s your cousin’s jam-packed wellness schedule. Or maybe it’s the person on Reddit who posted “Ugh, I wish someone would just…”

What happens next is key: solve the problem. Not theorize, not brainstorm—solve it. Offer a solution, however scrappy. Then ask: “Would you pay for this?”

Real Feedback Beats Hypothetical Praise

When your solution hits the mark, your first user will tell you—usually with enthusiasm, not politeness. And if it flops? Even better. You’ve just saved yourself months of work and thousands of dollars.

Sam Parr, founder of The Hustle, shared this wisdom on the My First Million podcast: “You don’t need 100 customers to get started. You need one customer to tell you you’re not crazy.”