Questions like “Who is your customer?” or “What problem are you solving?” have been covered in countless startup articles and most founders are already familiar with them. But those alone aren’t enough to move an idea forward.  

The six questions below go beyond the obvious. They focus on the deeper strategic gaps that often get ignored but are critical for building something sustainable whether it’s identifying hidden risks, clarifying user motivation, or mapping out revenue and traction early on. 

Answer them thoroughly, and you’ll be better positioned to bring your idea to life, one that resonates with users and stands a real chance in a crowded, competitive startup landscape. 

What's In It for Your Users? (Beyond Features)

Why should users care? Move beyond the basic functionality. Define the core value proposition with ruthless clarity. What tangible outcome or benefit does your user achieve? Is it saving significant time, reducing cost, eliminating frustration, increasing revenue, or mitigating risk?  

Quantify this value if possible ("saves 5 hours per week," "reduces errors by 30%").  

Builders focused solely on technical execution might miss this crucial user-centric perspective. Articulating the "why" ensures the solution is built to deliver real impact, not just code. 

What Does Your Competitive Landscape Really Look Like?

Ignoring the competition is startup suicide. Thoroughly map: 

Direct Competitors: Who solves the exact same problem? Study their features, pricing, and user feedback. 

Complementary Products: What adjacent tools or services could your product integrate with or replace parts of? These can be partners or future competitors. 

Indirect Competitors: Who solves the problem differently (e.g., spreadsheets vs. specialized SaaS)? What substitutes do users currently employ? 

Market Gaps: Where do existing solutions fall short? This is your potential oxygen. Understanding this landscape isn't just defensive; it reveals positioning opportunities, feature differentiators, and potential acquisition channels.

How Will You Find Customers (Or How Will They Find You)? 

Building it doesn't mean they will come. Details of your acquisition strategy. Be specific: 

Channels: SEO? Paid Ads (which platforms)? Content Marketing? Partnerships? Direct Sales? Community Building? 

Tactics: What specific actions will you take? (e.g., "LinkedIn ads targeting job title X in industry Y," "SEO blog posts focused on keyword Z," "Partnership integrations with established Platform A"). 

Early Adopters: Who are your first 10, 100 customers? How will you reach them specifically? A builder needs to understand if the product requires complex integrations for acquisition (e.g., an API for partners) or specific technical SEO foundations. Vague acquisition plans signal a fundamental business risk.

What Are All the Possible Revenue Streams?

How does this become a sustainable business? Brainstorm beyond the obvious: 

Core Model: Subscription (tiers?), Transaction Fee, License, Freemium? 

Ancillary Streams: Premium Support, Data/Analytics Access, API Usage Fees, Marketplace Commissions, White labeling? 

Future Opportunities: Affiliate, Advertising (if scale allows), Professional Services? 
Understanding potential revenue complexity early influences technical architecture (e.g., building tiered subscriptions, usage metering, or future API access).  

It also helps you evaluate if a builder understands the business context or just sees a coding task. Prioritize streams based on feasibility and market validation. 

What Are Your Make-or-Break Assumptions?

Identify the riskiest assumptions – the ones that, if wrong, could kill the venture. Where is your confidence lowest? 

Market Risk: Is there really a large enough group of users who care enough to pay? (Often the biggest) 

Value Risk: Does your solution actually deliver the core benefits effectively? 

Execution Risk: Can you actually build this technically? Can you acquire customers cost-effectively? 

Business Model Risk: Will customers pay enough to cover costs and be profitable? 

Scale Risk: Will the solution break technically or operationally as it grows? 

Confronting these isn't pessimistic; it's strategic. It forces you to design experiments or gather data to validate these assumptions before a heavy investment. Share these risks with potential builders – their experience in navigating similar uncertainties is invaluable. 

What Is Your Long-Term Vision Beyond the MVP?

The Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is just the starting line. Where is the finish line (or the next milestone)? What does the evolved product look like in 1-3 years? Consider: 

Core Product Evolution: Major features, scalability needs, platform potential. 

Market Expansion: New user segments, geographies, or verticals. 

Business Goals: Market share targets, revenue goals, exit aspirations. Sharing this vision helps you hire builders capable of growing with the product.  

Do they think of scalable architecture? Can they design an MVP that lays a foundation for the future, avoiding costly rewrites? A builder focused only on the immediate MVP might create technical debt that strangles future growth.

Before Hiring: Fortify Your Groundwork

Hiring a builder isn’t transactional; it’s a strategic alliance. Skipping these questions isn’t efficient; it’s architectural negligence. These aren’t boxes to check; they’re stress tests for your startup’s survival. 

Answering them interrogates your logic, surfaces hidden fault lines, and converts speculative energy into actionable intelligence. This rigor transforms your pitch from a narrative into an evidence-backed dossier, empowering you to: 

Audition builders strategically (not just technically), 

Pressure-test their business acumen, 

And forge partnerships anchored in shared risk awareness, not just shared enthusiasm. 

Crucially, this groundwork accelerates execution: If you have a concept waiting to materialize, rigorous preparation means launching a functional MVP in weeks, not months, and capturing real user insights from day one.