How to Validate Your Idea Rigorously

How Startups Should Engage with Strategics

Jennifer’s approach to M&A boils down to one key strategy: start early and stay engaged.

Before joining Flow, she reached out to the companies she saw as potential acquirers to say, “Hey, let’s have this conversation now. Because when I call you next time, I’ll likely be at Flow, and it’s going to be a different conversation.”

The point of such early engagement isn’t to rush toward an exit, but to build relationships and understand the market. It’s a huge asset to be able to plant seeds early and establish credibility long before any formal M&A discussions begin.

During those types of conversations, Jennifer also likes to raise some critical questions, such as: “What do you see happening in this space?” and “What trends or innovations are driving inflection points?” These are important to get a clear vision of what may lie ahead. 

It’s worth noting that not everyone will have the ability to make those kinds of direct calls right away. Jennifer’s approach reflects her experience and the network she’s built over the years. If you’re just starting out, you might not have a ready-made contact list or the credibility to start those conversations immediately—but that doesn’t mean you can’t build toward it.

Jennifer also draws on advice from Mert Iseri’s book, Exit Right, recommending that entrepreneurs adopt an annual process of evaluating their potential acquirers. She advises, “Once a year, sit down and say, ‘Who are my top five or ten acquirers? Have I talked to them this year? Do I know what they’re doing? Do they know who I am?’” This structured approach keeps the conversation alive without overwhelming day-to-day operations.

For Jennifer, this isn’t just networking; it’s creating a trend line. “You’re planting these different seeds and showing them progression over time. First, here’s the idea. Then, here’s our device. Next year, here’s our first patient. It’s all about building trust and demonstrating momentum,” she notes.

Her advice for entrepreneurs who prefer to stay hidden is, simply don’t. She believes the real opportunity lies in transparency and openness. “If and when the time is right, you want those relationships in place. You want them to see your journey and know your story,” she shares.

How to Assess the Validity of an Idea

When Jennifer was considering taking on her role at Flow Medical, she didn't jump in headfirst. Instead, she dedicated six months to challenge the concept.

“I kept looking for somebody to give me a reason to say ‘no’ because having gone through this journey, I know how hard it is and didn’t want to set myself up for a long, painful ride.” This isn’t to say you should be a skeptic. You just need to do your due diligence. Startups demand time, capital, and resilience, so validating an idea upfront is crucial—it might save you years of effort. “You’re betting your most important asset—your time—on this idea. You need to be sure it’s worth it,” she says.

It also takes setting aside personal biases. “As a subject matter expert, it’s easy to think, ‘I have this problem, so everyone must have this problem,’ But the reality is, you have to validate it. The problem might not be as universal or meaningful as it feels to you,” she explains.

She emphasizes the importance of true customer discovery, which she sees as often overlooked. Before she co-founded Flow, she called dozens of, interventional cardiologists and radiologists. She started by asking open-ended questions. Rather than pitching her idea, she focused on understanding the broader context. She asked questions like, “How many cases do you see in a year?”  “What are your biggest challenges in this area?” or “What tools are you using and why would you pick one tool over the other?” This way, she could explore decision-making processes and gaps in the field without leading her audience toward specific answers

She also leaned on volume to uncover patterns. “You need to find a dozen, two dozen, or even three dozen other experts,” she says. It’s only after speaking to enough people that recurring themes emerge, pointing to problems worth solving.

While doing your market research, or customer discovery, it’s also important to be consistent. Jennifer made sure to ask the same set of questions, in the same order, every time. “And they need to be non-leading,” she emphasizes. This structure prevents steering the conversation and ensures feedback is authentic.

Many entrepreneurs are tempted to skip this foundational work and dive straight into product development. Jennifer cautions against this. “You can save yourself a lot of time and headaches by doing this work upfront,” she says. After six months of discovery and analysis, which also included conversations with her VC friends and various cardiovascular companies, Jennifer had her answer. Challenging her assumptions and digging deep gave her the clarity and confidence to move forward. “I realized this is the most compelling opportunity in medtech I’ve ever seen. I’d be insane not to do it.”