Starting Up #4 - The 3-Question Test: How to Know If Your Startup Idea Will Actually Work

Episode notes

Most startups don't fail because the founder wasn't smart enough or didn't work hard enough. They fail because the idea was flawed from the start. In Episode 4 of Starting Up, Jay Sensi shares the simple 3-question framework that can save you years of wasted effort — and thousands of dollars — before you ever write a line of code or sign a lease. It's the same framework Jay wishes he'd had on day one of building My College Roomie, the company that eventually became Campus Kaizen. Here's the test every idea has to pass: 1️⃣ Is it achievable — for YOU, with your actual resources, skills, and timeline? 2️⃣ Will people actually PAY for it? (Not "think it's cool." Not "say they'd buy." Actually pay.) 3️⃣ Does it have the potential to deliver the lifestyle or exit you want? Jay walks through each criterion in plain language, then makes it concrete with the Coffee Shop Example — an idea that passes criteria one and two with flying colors but quietly fails the third for most founders who dream of a life-changing exit. You'll also hear Jay get honest about his own mistake: he never ran My College Roomie through criteria three before he launched.