How to Know Your Idea is Legit: Validation, Failure & Shipping What Sticks | StrictlyVC Athens 2026

Accumulate small wins to flex risk-taking muscle

Victoria built confidence by progressively stepping out of her comfort zone, such as studying computer science at Stanford despite no prior programming background, proving she could achieve set goals before attempting to build a company from scratch.

Cross-industry exploration reduces fear of failure

Johannes developed risk tolerance by living in five countries and working across six different industries, making it intrinsic to start new ventures and pivot careers, including attending MIT mid-career to study quantum technologies.

Identify 'hair on fire' problems with immediate willingness to pay

Victoria emphasized that the strongest validation is when customers urgently demand a solution, illustrated by Finny's first customer offering to pay double for early access to a product that didn't yet exist.

Apply the 'Mom Test' to avoid polite lies

Founders should ask customers about current pain levels and existing workarounds rather than hypothetical questions like 'would you use this,' as people naturally offer polite encouragement that masks true lack of interest.

Find customers with no alternative solutions

For deep tech, Johannes advised finding niche customers who genuinely have no other way to solve their problem and will tolerate early usability issues, validating the technology through letters of intent or initial contracts rather than opinions.

Maintain the problem while pivoting the solution

Victoria explained that while Finny's core problem—helping financial advisors grow—remained constant, the solution evolved from a static database to an automated outbound agent based on how customers actually used the product.

Bet on team velocity for fast-moving tech

To combat rapid AI obsolescence, Victoria advises selling customers on the founding team's commitment to staying at the forefront, as the product seen today may differ completely from the version delivered next month.

Target 100-1000x improvements in unsolved niches

Johannes noted that deep tech success requires finding applications where novel technology provides orders-of-magnitude improvements that conventional methods cannot achieve, such as quantum cameras processing 20,000 units per second versus one per hour.

Abandon ideas with lukewarm feedback

Victoria's initial idea for a QA testing agent failed because customers offered only vague interest, whereas Finny generated enthusiastic, immediate demand, revealing that polite responses are anti-signals for product-market fit.

Avoid regulatory-heavy initial markets

Johannes shared failures in microscopy due to lengthy regulatory timelines and semiconductor manufacturing due to technical mismatches, emphasizing the importance of finding the right beachhead application through rapid experimentation.

Prioritize private funding before government grants

Johannes recommended reversing the funding sequence, securing private capital first while treating government grants as a parallel stream, since bureaucratic delays and IP restrictions can stall early momentum.