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For the second session of Founder Fundamentals this Fall 2026, from led a session on how founders can scope out a real market opportunity before investing heavily in an idea. From identifying the right customer and understanding how they currently solve a problem to assessing alternatives, researching demand, and testing assumptions, the session focused on helping founders replace assumptions with evidence and make smarter decisions about what to build next.

Start With a Real Market Opportunity

A good idea doesn't automatically mean there's a strong market behind it. Talitha encouraged founders to test three separate questions before moving forward: whether a meaningful problem exists for a specific group in a specific situation, whether there are enough of those people to realistically reach, and whether there's a credible reason they'd choose your solution over what they already do.

These questions are related, but a large market doesn't necessarily mean there's a realistic opening for your business. Positive feedback doesn't always mean someone is willing to change what they currently do. The goal is to move from "I think" to "I found."

Start With Someone Specific

One of the biggest mistakes founders make is trying to serve everyone. "You cannot start with everyone," Talitha said. Instead of targeting a broad group like "dog owners," founders should focus on a specific customer in a specific situation, such as someone who works away from home several days a week and needs a reliable lunchtime walk for their dog.

The same applies across industries. Rather than targeting "small businesses," founders could focus on independent shop owners with one location, a small team, and a specific operational problem. The more specific the customer, the easier it becomes to understand what they need, when the problem happens, and what they currently do about it.

Ask About What Customers Actually Do

Customer interviews should reveal real behaviour, not just collect encouraging feedback. Talitha referenced The Mom Test, by Rob Fitzpatrick, which encourages founders to avoid questions like "Would you use this?" Instead, ask about a real past experience: what happened last time, what they did, who they relied on, whether they paid for a solution, and what did or didn't work.

As Talitha put it, "You're not trying to prove that your idea belongs in their life. You're trying to understand their life well enough to decide whether your idea belongs there." Someone saying an idea sounds useful is one thing. Someone explaining that they recently paid for a similar solution gives founders far stronger evidence to work with.

Understand the Real Competition

Competition isn't always another business offering the same product or service. Talitha introduced a question inspired by positioning expert April Dunford: what would your customer do if your solution didn't exist? They might use another company, but they could also do the task themselves, ask a friend or neighbour, use a free solution, keep their current routine, or simply do nothing.

All of these are alternatives a business is competing against. Founders should understand why those options work before assuming customers are looking for something new. The opportunity often becomes clearer once the current solution stops being good enough.

Be Different in a Way That Matters

Being different from a competitor is only useful if that difference matters to the customer. Statements like "better features" or "better service" don't automatically explain why someone should switch. Instead, founders should ask what they offer that the current alternative doesn't, and then why the customer would actually care.

That could mean greater reliability, less work, easier access, faster delivery, or another benefit tied directly to the customer's situation. Talitha also emphasized that founders should only promise what they can actually deliver. Strong positioning needs to be both valuable and realistic.

Look Beyond Big Market Numbers

Market research doesn't always need to begin with a massive industry statistic. Talitha encouraged founders to focus on three practical questions instead: who fits the problem you're solving, who you can actually reach and speak to, and how many customers you can realistically serve with your current resources.

A large industry number might look impressive, but it doesn't tell founders whether they can actually access or serve those customers. A smaller, reachable first market can often be a much stronger place to begin.

Use Evidence to Shape the Plan

Research should help founders challenge their assumptions rather than confirm what they already believe. Useful evidence can come from customer interviews, public reviews, competitor websites, pricing information, industry directories, government data, and existing customer feedback.

Talitha encouraged founders to separate what they learn into three categories: what the evidence actually shows, what that might mean for the business, and what still needs to be checked. One conversation or statistic rarely proves an entire market opportunity. The goal is to let the evidence shape the next decision.

The Founder Takeaway: Replace Assumptions With Evidence

The key lesson from the second Founder Fundamentals session was simple: don't build your market strategy around assumptions. Know who you're solving for, understand what they currently do, identify why they might change, and gather evidence before investing heavily in the solution.

A strong market opportunity becomes clearer when founders listen, test, learn, and let the evidence guide what comes next.

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