Thesis

We believed we could innovate in the learning and development space by creating a system that would help companies provide tailored, personalized and on demand training and development experiences to their employees. 

Validation

We approached validation through two main strategies: direct market research and an early real-world pilot.

We began by distributing surveys to dozens of potential end-users. 

Later, we engaged directly with HR teams, L&D managers, and other key stakeholders. Through these conversations, we identified a critical pain point: companies struggled to measure the impact of training programs, and L&D was often among the first areas to face budget cuts. While they acknowledged the challenge, they didn’t see an urgent need for a new solution.

In parallel, we spoke with a dozen tutors and coaches who would potentially provide content on our platform. This was essential for shaping the marketplace approach, but we intentionally kept this effort lightweight – a decision that proved to be the right one.

One of the most valuable validation steps we took was running a pilot program. This allowed us to test whether employees engaged with the platform, whether organizations saw value in it, and ultimately, whether there was a viable path forward. We achieved 80% engagement, with over 50% of users expressing willingness to take another session. By end-user engagement metrics, the pilot was a success.

Why it didn’t progress 

1. Team and Skills Gap: We struggled to find the right technical co-founder, making it difficult to scale the product.

2. Market Conditions: Post-COVID, the market for learning and development products became even more difficult to penetrate. Many large organizations were focused on cutting costs, and learning and development budgets were often the first to be slashed.

3. Lack of Business Model Validation: While the pilot demonstrated strong user engagement, it did not confirm a sustainable business model. Organizations expressed enthusiasm but weren’t demonstrating a willingness to pay at scale.

Insights

1. The Gap Between End-User and Buyer: While employees liked our platform, the real decision-makers were the organizations. We should have focused more on the business case: what was the cost of the status quo, and what clear benefit would adoption bring?

2. Validate the Problem, Not Just the Solution: Looking back, our initial validation surveys and interviews were biased toward the solution we had in mind, rather than deeply exploring the underlying pain point. Don’t fall in love with your idea too early – focus on validating the problem first.

3. A Non-Revolutionary Solution: Feedback showed that while people liked the concept, it wasn’t solving the problem in a way that would drive sustainable adoption.

4. Timing Matters as Much as the Idea: One of our biggest takeaways was that even a good idea can fail if the market isn’t ready. Understanding timing and market conditions is just as critical as the product itself.

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