Validate before you build: The essential checklist for testing your HealthTech idea

Are you sitting on what feels like a brilliant HealthTech idea? Before you invest thousands in development, here's something you should know: 42% of startups fail because they build products nobody wants. In healthcare tech, where development costs are high and regulations complex, this number is even higher.

Instead of rushing to build, successful HealthTech founders validate their ideas first. At Momentum, we've refined this approach into a framework that has helped dozens of healthcare innovators confirm market fit before writing a single line of code.

Why validation is make-or-break for HealthTech startups

I recently talked with a physician who spent $300,000 developing a clinical workflow platform. "I was so sure it would solve problems my colleagues and I face daily," he told me. Six months later, almost no one was using it. Why? He had only checked with a small circle of like-minded specialists, missing the bigger picture of market needs and how healthcare organizations actually buy things.

This story plays out all the time in HealthTech. Great ideas fail not because the technology is bad, but because founders skip the basic validation steps that bridge the gap between a good idea and a real business.

Let's look at our eight-step validation framework that consistently helps founders build products people actually want.

1. Make sure the problem actually exists

Before solving anything, check that the problem is real, widespread, and painful enough to justify a solution.

Healthcare has tons of inefficiencies and challenges, but not all make good business opportunities. You need to find problems that are both significant and not already solved well.

How to do this:

• Talk in depth with 15-20 potential users across different roles and types of organizations
• Pay attention to emotional responses during these conversations (frustration is a good sign you've hit a real pain point)
• Ask how they're working around the problem now
• Measure the impact in concrete terms (time wasted, money lost, patient outcomes affected)

During this phase, focus on listening rather than pitching. You're not trying to validate your solution yet – you're trying to deeply understand the problem from multiple angles.

2. Look at what's already out there

Even real problems might already have decent solutions. Your job is to find what's missing in the current market.

Improving healthcare isn't just about solving problems – it's about solving them better than existing approaches. Understanding what's already out there helps you find true gaps in the market.

How to do this:

• Create a detailed comparison chart of existing solutions
• Read user reviews and feedback for competing products
• Identify where current solutions fall short
• Calculate how big your potential market is
• Talk with industry experts about unmet needs and trends

Look beyond just comparing features to understand the deeper reasons why current solutions aren't fully meeting user needs. Look for patterns in what users complain about or use cases that aren't being addressed.

3. Test your proposed solution

Before building anything, make sure your approach fits with real-world workflows and user expectations.

Healthcare environments have unique constraints. Your solution needs to fit seamlessly into these environments while effectively solving the identified problem.

How to do this:

• Create simple mockups or clickable prototypes
• Test usability with potential users in their actual work environment
• Map your solution against specific user journeys and workflows
• Identify potential adoption barriers and sources of resistance
• Test different approaches to solve the same problem

Pay close attention to how users interact with your prototype and listen carefully to their feedback. Often, the most valuable insights come from watching what they struggle with rather than what they explicitly tell you.

4. Understand the regulatory path

Healthcare solutions often face complex regulations. Understanding your path early prevents costly changes later.

Regulatory considerations can significantly impact your development timeline, costs, and go-to-market strategy. Planning for this early is essential for HealthTech success.

How to do this:

• Figure out if your solution will need FDA clearance or approval
• Assess what HIPAA compliance requirements apply to your approach
• Research similar products and how they navigated regulations
• Talk to regulatory experts to develop a compliance strategy
• Consider international regulations if applicable

This research helps you understand not just if you can build your solution, but if you can legally bring it to market within a reasonable timeframe and budget.

5. Check technical feasibility

Make sure your vision can actually be executed within reasonable technical constraints before committing resources.

Healthcare technology often requires connecting with legacy systems, implementing strict security, and handling complex data. Assessing technical feasibility helps you identify potential challenges before development begins.

How to do this:

• Break down your solution into its main technical components
• Evaluate how it needs to integrate with existing healthcare systems
• Research available APIs, frameworks, and services you can use
• Estimate how complex the development will be and how long it might take
• Identify potential technical risks and how to address them

Balance innovation with practicality to ensure your vision is technically achievable within reasonable time and budget constraints.

6. Make sure your business model works

A solution people love but won't pay for isn't a sustainable business. Confirm willingness to pay before investing in development.

Healthcare has unique payment dynamics, including insurance reimbursement, value-based care models, and complex purchasing processes. Your business model needs to align with these realities.

How to do this:

• Define and test multiple pricing models with potential customers
• Identify who pays versus who benefits in your model
• Calculate roughly how much it will cost to acquire customers
• Project customer lifetime value
• Research relevant reimbursement pathways if applicable

Direct conversations about pricing can be uncomfortable but are essential. Ask potential customers not just if they would use your solution, but specifically how much they would pay for it and from which budget.

7. Test how you talk about your solution

Make sure you can effectively communicate your solution's value to your target audience.

Even the best solutions fail if potential customers don't clearly understand their value. Testing your messaging helps ensure your value proposition resonates.

How to do this:

• Create a simple landing page explaining your concept
• Run small test ad campaigns targeting specific groups
• Track how many people sign up or request information
• Test different value propositions and messaging approaches
• See which benefits drive the most interest

This testing helps you refine not just what your solution does, but how you explain its value in terms that connect with each stakeholder group.

8. Map out the decision-making process

In healthcare, end-users often aren't the ones making buying decisions. Understand the entire path to adoption.

Healthcare purchasing decisions typically involve multiple stakeholders with different priorities. Understanding this ecosystem is crucial for successfully entering the market.

How to do this:

• Identify all stakeholders involved in purchasing decisions
• Understand each stakeholder's unique priorities and concerns
• Test your messaging with various stakeholder groups
• Document how decisions get made in your target organizations
• Identify key influencers and potential champions

This mapping helps you develop targeted approaches for each stakeholder, addressing their specific concerns and demonstrating value in terms that matter to their role.

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Case study: How Egis validated their medication management platform

Egis, a pharmaceutical company expanding into digital health, used this validation approach to refine their medication management app before development:

Problem validation

The team had observed medication adherence challenges among patients with chronic conditions. They conducted interviews with three distinct user groups: patients managing multiple medications, caregivers supporting these patients, and healthcare providers. After speaking with 40 patients, 25 caregivers, and 15 clinicians, they confirmed widespread frustration with existing medication management tools that failed to provide personalized guidance and connect the entire care circle.

Market analysis

They discovered that while there were simple medication reminder apps and complex clinical systems, no solution effectively bridged the gap between patient-friendly interfaces and clinically-relevant medication management—creating a clear market opportunity.

User need confirmation

Using wireframes, they tested different approaches to medication tracking and adherence support with all three user groups. This multi-perspective testing revealed that patients needed simplicity and motivation features, caregivers wanted oversight capabilities, and clinicians required actionable adherence data, insights that significantly shaped their interface design.

Regulatory assessment

They determined that CE marking would be necessary as a medical device when providing personalized medication guidance and explored the different regulatory requirements across European markets, particularly considering their pharmaceutical company background.

Technical feasibility

Leveraging their existing digital health team, they evaluated integration requirements with electronic health records and medication databases to ensure accurate medication information while maintaining an intuitive user experience.

Business model testing

They validated a B2B2C approach—partnering with healthcare providers and insurers while offering a free basic version to patients—confirming willingness to pay among institutional partners while ensuring the solution remained accessible for all patients.

Market responsiveness

Their landing page achieved a 14% sign-up rate among patients with chronic conditions, significantly above industry averages. They also tested targeted messaging with healthcare providers to ensure their value proposition resonated with clinical decision-makers.

Stakeholder alignment

They identified that while patients were primary users, the trust and endorsement of healthcare providers was equally critical for adoption. This insight led them to develop features that supported clinical workflows while maintaining the patient-centered design that drove engagement.

This validation process helped Egis avoid several potential pitfalls, including building features that wouldn't integrate with clinical workflows and misaligning their go-to-market strategy. They launched with a focused MVP that addressed medication adherence through connected care circles—the most critical need identified in their research.

Turning validation into action

Completing these validation steps won't just reduce risk—it will strengthen your entire business approach. After this process, you'll have:

• Market-validated evidence of a genuine need
• A refined value proposition that connects with your target audience
• A clear technical direction that balances innovation with feasibility
• A validated business model with confirmed willingness to pay
• A solid foundation for development planning and investor conversations

This approach doesn't eliminate all risks, but it significantly increases your chances of success by ensuring you're building something the market truly needs and will pay for.

Ready to validate your HealthTech idea?

At Momentum, we help HealthTech founders validate and build solutions that make a real impact in healthcare. Our structured approach has consistently helped entrepreneurs avoid costly mistakes and create products that address genuine market needs.

Download our comprehensive MVP Development Playbook for Healthcare to access our complete validation framework, including:

• Interview questions for different healthcare stakeholders
• Competitive analysis templates for major HealthTech segments
• Business model frameworks customized for healthcare solutions
• Regulatory assessment checklists by product category

Whether you're just starting with a concept or ready to begin development, our team can help ensure you're building a solution people actually want. Our validation-first approach has saved HealthTech startups thousands in development costs while dramatically increasing their chances of success.

Don't build what you think the market needs—validate what it actually wants. Your future users, investors, and team will thank you.