How to Test a Business Idea and Get Stalled Growth Moving Again
To test a business idea, you break it down to the problem underneath it, then check each step with real evidence before you spend. I'm Mike Boysen, and I help leaders do this when growth has stalled. Here's the problem, who I work with, what I do, the proof, and how to start.
A stalled growth rate gets punished, even when revenue still climbs
Markets punish a company when its yearly growth rate slows, even if revenue still goes up. Dollars can rise while the rate falls, and investors watch the rate. A quarter misses and the stock dips. A new AI headline lifts the price for one quarter. Then everyone sees the core business never moved.
The pressure on companies keeps building. Innosight, a strategy firm, reported in 2018 that the average company stayed on the S&P 500 for 33 years in 1964 and 24 years in 2016. It forecast just 12 years by 2027. Companies that stand still are being replaced faster than they used to be.
If you're not thinking about real transformation or disruption, you're in for a rude awakening. Non-traditional competitors are building agentic capabilities, meaning AI that does the work itself, into new business models. Those models are very hard to copy. A new headline or another unused study won't keep up with them.
This is for VP-level leaders and above whose growth plan has already stalled
I work with executives who own a growth goal their board doesn't believe they'll hit. You've probably paid for strategy work or job studies that nobody used, and growth is still stuck. You need a clear call to go ahead, stop, or change course. Then you need a plan you can test.
This work isn't a fit for everyone. I turn down buyers below VP level who can't change how the company works. I also turn down anyone who wants a busy project that changes nothing. And I don't build the product. Your team does the research, the interviews, the prototype and the build, and I guide them.
I help you find the problem behind your idea and test it step by step
I help leaders test a big bet and make it stronger before they spend. The work is problem solving. It often starts with an idea, not a job. We find the problem behind the idea and break it down. The job your customer is trying to get done comes later, once the problem is clear.
You get a clear call, with evidence, on whether to go ahead, stop, or change course. If you go on, you get a plan you can prove or drop. The first hypothesis, a plain statement that evidence can prove wrong, is on paper in 7 to 14 days. Your team does the work.
I've worked at several strategy consultancies, including one known for its Jobs-to-be-Done method. Client work showed me where that approach falls short, and the biggest shortfall was disruption. That's why I moved to first principles, which means starting from basic facts instead of from how things have always been done.
Traditional Jobs-to-be-Done research works well for sustaining improvements, like making the customer experience of what you already sell better. It's a weaker fit for functional, disruptive innovation. Other methods have real strengths too. For disruption, I use problem solving from first principles instead.
I built my method into Venture Proof, a powerful, disruptive strategy-as-code engine. It builds and tests your strategy with code, so every step runs the same way and can be checked. It's in private Alpha and available only through advisory work. The course is a fully manual version of it.
I guide in two ways, fractional or immersive. Immersive means more of my involvement. Neither one replaces your team. I bring the tools that speed the work, and your people still do the research, the interviews, the prototype and the product build. You stay in charge of what gets built.
Proof: watch the method run, then check every step yourself
The proof I can show you is the method itself, not a list of logos. I don't name clients on this page. Instead, watch the video below, titled "How to Test a Business Idea, and Then Make It Better (Venture Proof)." It walks through Venture Proof, the approach behind my advisory work.
Every step of the Venture Proof method leaves a record. Each lesson has a video, written notes and a template, and there are 142 templates in all. Anyone on your team can read what was decided and why. That keeps the work checkable and cuts the bias that can creep in when others do it for you.
Two Modules are free, so you can judge the method before you commit to anything. Module 13 shows what a finished proof looks like: your bet on one page, plus the market counts that mean go or stop. Module 1 has 7 lessons and takes about 56 minutes.
The courses: learn to test your own idea, starting with two free Modules
You can learn the whole method yourself. The full Venture Proof course is 13 Modules, taken in order, from a rough idea to a solution tested in the market. Module 1 and Module 13 are free. The course is a fully manual version of the Venture Proof engine, so you do each step by hand.
Learn to test your own idea, with two free Modules
The course is problem solving, and it doesn't start with the job. It often begins with an idea, then finds and breaks down the problem behind it. The job comes later. Module 1, Reduce It to the Immutable Truth, cuts your idea down until nothing else can go. It has 7 lessons.
After Module 1, you name the job and the person who does it, map how they do it today, and put a number on the problem. You talk to real people, build a business model that's hard to copy, attack it yourself, and run a test by hand. Module 13 ends with a one-page brief.
The full course comes with a downloadable 337-page workbook and a fillable pack of 142 templates. Each lesson has a video, written notes and a template. Only Modules 1 and 13 can be taken on their own, and both are free. You can also get the workbook and templates alone, without the videos.
Questions along the way? The community is free. It's where I share how to test a business idea, step by step, and where you can talk with others doing the same. You may need a free Whop account to post. Start with Module 1, then come say hi and tell us what you're working on.
Answers to common questions about testing a business idea with me
What does it mean to test a business idea?
To test a business idea means to check your idea against real evidence before you spend money building it. You break the idea down to the problem behind it, state what must be true, and run small tests that can prove you wrong. Then you decide to go ahead, stop, or change course.
Who is this for, and who is it not for?
This is for VP-level leaders and above whose growth plan has stalled and who can change how the company works. It's not for buyers below VP level, anyone who wants another project that looks busy but changes nothing, or anyone who won't change course no matter what the evidence says.
Do you build the product?
No, I don't build the product. I guide, and your team builds. I bring tools that speed the work, such as Venture Proof, and I tell you whether to go ahead, stop, or change course. Your people do the research, the interviews, the prototype and the product build, so your team owns what gets built.
How fast will I see a first result?
The first result is a hypothesis on paper in 7 to 14 days. A hypothesis is a plain statement that evidence can prove wrong. From there, you test it, and your team builds only if the evidence says to go ahead. Timing for the later steps depends on your idea.
Can I learn the method myself first?
Yes, you can learn the method yourself first. Module 1 and Module 13 of the Venture Proof course are free. Module 1 has 7 lessons and takes about 56 minutes. The full course has all 13 Modules, 142 templates and a 337-page workbook. Try the free Modules first, then decide whether you want the rest.
What is Venture Proof?
Venture Proof is a powerful, disruptive strategy-as-code engine. It builds and tests your strategy with code, so every step runs the same way and can be checked. It's in private Alpha and available only through advisory work. The Venture Proof course is a fully manual version of it that you can learn today.
Book a 30-minute call to decide your next step on a stalled growth plan
On a 30-minute call, we talk through your idea or your stalled growth plan and decide what to do next. If earlier strategy work didn't move growth, we start with what you already paid for. Fees come in a proposal after we talk, not on this page.