WedgeScout field notes
Blog
Evidence-first guides for choosing a market, talking to customers, sizing an opportunity, and deciding what is worth building.
Guide
How to Validate a Startup Idea Without Fooling Yourself
Updated July 2026. Four questions any validation must answer, walked through four real ideas — one that held up and three that did not.
Guide
Beachhead Market: Win a Small Market First — On Purpose
Updated July 2026. What a beachhead market is, Bill Aulet's three conditions, eight selection criteria, and how to find yours with evidence.
Research guide
17 Boring Businesses, and What They Actually Cost to Start
Updated July 2026. Startup costs for 17 boring businesses, the operating questions worth investigating, and how to validate one before buying.
WedgeScout Research TeamGuide
Customer Discovery: How to Find Out What People Will Actually Pay For
Updated July 2026. Customer discovery explained through hypotheses, interviews, journey mapping, and evidence.
Guide
How to Build an Ideal Customer Profile You Can Actually Score
Updated July 2026. What an ICP means in marketing and sales, a scoreable framework for building one, real examples, and a free template.
Template
The Market Research Template With a Sources Column
A market research template that keeps claims, sources, competitor evidence, and next validation steps in one place.
Guide
TAM, SAM, SOM: How to Size a Market Without Making Numbers Up
Updated July 2026. TAM, SAM and SOM with real math: definitions, top-down vs bottom-up, examples, and a market-size slide investors will read.
Book guide
The Mom Test, Summarized: Questions Even Your Mom Can't Lie About
Updated July 2026. A summary of The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick: the three rules for customer interviews, good versus bad questions, and where it stops.