Topic graph

Topic map

The full editorial hierarchy of the publication. The root is Startup Validation; everything else is a branch. Each leaf links to the pillar article that covers it.

Last updated · September 27, 2026

Key takeaways

How this publication is organised

Root topic: Startup Validation — every article on this site is a branch off that topic.
Vertical branches first: SaaS, AI Startup, Marketplace, Mobile App, Chrome Extension, B2B, and API — where the product category shapes the validation surface.
Horizontal disciplines next: Customer Discovery and MVP — cross-cutting concerns every founder has to handle.
Framework & Mindset last: the founder-psychology and four-stage framework pieces that every other branch assumes.
Each leaf is a published pillar article — there are no stubs and no empty placeholders.

How to read this map

Three founder scenarios, three reading paths

The map is organized vertically first (by product category) and horizontally second (by cross-cutting discipline). The order matters: a SaaS founder who has not yet tested the market needs different reading than a founder with a validated idea who needs to scope the first build. Use the scenario that matches where you are today, not the one that matches where you hope to be.

Scenario 1

You know the product category but not whether the market is real

Start at the vertical branch that matches your product (SaaS, AI Startup, Marketplace, Mobile App, Chrome Extension, B2B, or API). Each vertical pillar assumes the canonical validation framework but adds the failure modes that category founders hit most often — chicken-and-egg for marketplaces, defensibility for AI, buying committees for B2B, distribution cost for mobile apps. Read the vertical pillar first; the framework will fall into place once you have seen the category-specific version. The Customer Discovery branch is the second stop regardless of vertical — the conversations that produce validation evidence are not vertical-specific.

Scenario 2

You have an idea but no product category yet

Start at the foundation branch — Framework & Mindset. The four-stage validation framework, the founder-psychology pieces, and the willingness-to-pay articles apply to any product. Read the canonical pillar first (How to Validate a Startup Idea Before Building), then the positioning article, which covers how to choose a wedge against an incumbent before you commit to a category. Once you have a clear idea of the market and the wedge, return to the verticals and pick the one that fits the product you have now.

Scenario 3

You have validated the idea and now need to build

The MVP branch is for founders who already have evidence that the idea is real and are about to scope the first version. Pair the MVP pillar with the Startup Validation Checklist to turn the framework into a week-by-week build plan. Customer Discovery remains relevant — the conversations that produced the validation signal should keep running through the build, not stop at it. Distribution enters the reading path here: a validated idea with no distribution plan is still a year away from revenue.

If you do not know where to start, the Startup Validation hub runs the same branches in a single recommended reading order — start there and let the order choose for you.

Eleven topic clusters

Startup Validation

Recurring-revenue assumptions that have to be tested