Ultra-lean validation of a CPG startup idea using $50 in ads and a fake checkout

Start with a problem you personally feel and already talk about with peers.

Justin wanted bone broth for his own gut, skin, and joint health and heard about it from CrossFit friends.

Why: Founders who are authentic users spot nuances outsiders miss and sustain motivation through years of execution.

"I was fixing my own problem. I wanted bone broth... people that I respected in a space that I cared about was passionate about were talking about."

Use Google Trends to confirm macro momentum before committing.

He checked that searches for “bone broth” were rising, not flat or falling.

Why: A rising tide reduces education costs and signals expanding demand.

"I looked at the macro level and I was like, okay, how is bone broth trending from a Google Trends standpoint? And you could see it was starting to take off."

Lurk in niche forums to measure depth of obsession, not just breadth.

He scoured Mark’s Daily Apple, Paleo Hacks, and Reddit threads to see how fanatically people discussed sourcing bones and 24-hour cook times.

Why: Small groups of fanatics often spend more per capita than large indifferent audiences.

"I looked at places where basically people in the Paleo community... saw how much traffic is there, how engaged are these threads... super, super engaged."

Define a minimum viable income, not a unicorn fantasy.

Justin’s target was $10 k/month each for him and his brother—roughly a $200 k/year business.

Why: Concrete, modest targets make go/no-go decisions faster and reduce paralysis.

"I was literally looking at like, can my brother and I start a business that pays us each 10 grand a month?"

Charge a premium multiple over commodity alternatives to stress-test willingness to pay.

He priced 16 oz at $29.99 vs $5 grocery broth—six times higher—to see if demand was price-insensitive.

Why: If people pay 6× for vaporware, profit margin and value perception are both validated.

"I was like, great, if I can charge six times more, I'm pretty positive I can figure out how to make the economics work."

Sell the product before it exists to measure real conversion.

A $9.99 domain, $5 Fiverr logo, Unbounce page, and PayPal “Buy Now” button were the entire funnel.

Why: Actual dollars beat survey answers; 30 % clicked through and paid.

"I set a price... people ended up clicking the Order Now button... made almost $500 in revenue."

Use cheaper ad channels when validating to stretch budget.

He spent ~$100 on Bing ads because they were cheaper than AdWords.

Why: Early-stage data quality matters more than volume; cheap clicks still reveal intent.

"I was spending about $100 on Bing ads, because Bing was cheaper than AdWords."

Radical honesty with early buyers builds trust and keeps the queue warm.

He emailed every PayPal buyer offering a full refund or 50 % off when the product shipped (later stretched to 8 months).

Why: Transparency converts refunds into patient evangelists and proves long-term demand.

"I sent this email to every single person that had placed an order... either I can refund you in full today, or I can give you a 50 percent discount."