102: John Zeratsky - Fake Products, Real Feedback: Sprinting to Validation

John Zeratsky's 48-hour method to test ideas without code (or cash burns).

Apr 13, 2025

John Zeratsky, co-creator of the Sprint Method and VC partner at Character, spills the tea on why "vision-driven" startups often fail, how to validate hypotheses before burning cash, and why your pitch deck needs more grit than glitter. Cue the rapid prototyping, competitor smackdowns, and hot takes on AI hype.

Timestamps

00:00 – Intro: John’s journey from Google Ads to VC (and why tall founders have an edge)
05:48 – “Vision-driven” is a red flag: Why early-stage startups should ditch grand visions for hypothesis-driven experiments.
11:10 – The Foundation Sprint: Building a business case in 2 days (customer, problem, competitors, differentiation)
23:34 – Slaying competitors (even if they’re “good enough”): Why substitutes and workarounds are your real rivals
30:05 – Fake it ’til you validate it: Prototyping fake products to get real feedback (no coding required)1.
39:48 – Case studies: How Slack, Gmail, and AI material science startups de-risk bets early1.
45:50 – Closing: Why your MVP’s “surface area” matters more than polish (and where to find John’s book)

🔥 Hot Takes

“Vision-driven leaders are early-stage liabilities.”
Hyping a “beautiful future” without validating assumptions? That’s a 50% failure rate waiting to happen
“Your pitch deck is probably BS.”
Founders: If your “hypothesis” section is just buzzwords, you’re already behind. Investors want actionable experiments, not fairy tales