Friendly Ladder
Friendly Ladder / Tutorial 07

Tutorial 07 · Beginner

Validate a Problem Worth Solving

Turn one founder problem claim into a traceable evidence brief and choose the smallest useful test without mistaking public interest for demand.

45–60 minutesNo coding8 guided stepsIncluded in Founder-Operator Program and Premium Pack

You will build

A problem evidence brief, assumptions register, dated source log, run receipt, and one bounded next validation test

You will strengthen

Separating evidence from enthusiasm, challenging weak signals, and deciding what must be tested next

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Learning map

Tools and capabilities

Tools

Codex Plan modeWeb searchFounder Operating Workspace

Capabilities

Evidence judgmentAssumption testingSource traceabilityFounder-controlled memoryWorkflow reproducibility

Before you begin

What you need

  • Codex in the ChatGPT desktop app or another Codex surface
  • A local folder where you can safely create the Founder Operating Workspace
  • One real venture problem claim, or the provided fictional Sample Venture research

Practice assets

Download what you need

Founder Operating Workspace starterA clean text-first workspace with the validation method, evidence log, decision log, checks, and run-receipt structure.Download →Sample Venture research sourcesA clearly fictional, dated public-signal set for completing every research step safely when real evidence is unavailable or sensitive.Download →Sample Venture company contextCopy-ready fictional company facts, constraints, and open assumptions for the workspace company context.Download →Sample Venture customer contextCopy-ready fictional intended-customer, problem, current-alternative, and evidence context.Download →Sample Venture offer contextCopy-ready fictional pilot scope, exclusions, and pricing assumptions for the workspace offer context.Download →Founder workflow run receiptA reusable receipt for recording exact inputs, sources, assumptions, checks, results, and founder approval.Download →

Step-one preview

Frame the problem decision

Objective

Define one customer problem claim, the founder decision it must inform, and the evidence that would support or weaken it.

Visible result

You can see one bounded problem claim, one decision boundary, criteria that could support or weaken the claim, and a plan that has not changed any files.

Completion check

I chose the real or fictional route, framed one falsifiable problem claim, and kept consequential actions outside this run.