How can I validate an app in market that offers a premium service, for which people often use free tools for?

The easiest answer to this is something a mentor told me a few years ago when I was working on a niche app....she said "do you honestly feel like you could be passionate about this for the next 10 years"? That may not sound like it's relevant but it is...honestly that's the only thing that matters when starting a compay (besides the obvious of is this valuable)...That's the first thing to figure out. Then when I answered and said maybe, she said "do you think that this is the biggest thing you could be doing with your time? Why stop at helping a few thousand people, why not pour 10 years of your life into something that can help millions".....so reframe your question, is my product only helping a few people? Is there something else I could be doing that will help more people? If the answers are obvious then you know what you need to do...back to the drawing board.

Validation and monetization - two great questions. See some great tips on how to do validation in this answer: https://clarity.fm/questions/6423/how-do-you-do-market-research (happy to help you plan your specific validation process) Regarding monetization - the most suitable business models in this case would be commission / intermediate fee taken from either the advertisers or the owners of the advertising spaces (spas, coworking spaces) or both of them. Good luck I've successfully helped over 350 entrepreneurs, startups and businesses, and I would be happy to help you. After scheduling a call, please send me some background information so that I can prepare in advance - thus giving you maximum value for your money. Take a look at the great reviews I’ve received: https://clarity.fm/assafben-david

Create an ideal customer profile. Create some questions that will allow to you survey a potential tester to determine if they fit your profile. Design simple landing page with very clear value proposition that speaks to your ideal customer. Ask for a minimum of information up-front (email), but ask for more info after they commit by submitting the first piece of info. (KISSmetrics does a good job of this on their current website trial signup). Use the their answers to these profiling questions to put the applicants into buckets. Let in the most ideal bucket first, or split them into groups if they're big enough. Try and measure engagement the best you can. Measure qualitative and quantitative data. Schedule calls with your beta testers to find out more, especially with the ones who's user behavior seemed to indicate that they didn't get value from your product. Find out why. Make sure they are indeed your ideal customer. Pick up the phone and get to know your customers inside and out. Meet them in person if possible. Incorporate their feedback quickly and get more feedback. Rinse repeat.

Face to Face will always be better. The reason is because to get to the root of an issue or to what really drives a person, you need to ask WHY 5 times. Only then you can offer a solution that will be irresistible to your prospects. Let's try with an email survey. 1. What is your biggest struggle when you want to expand abroad? __________ 2. Why? __________ 3. Why? __________ 4. Why? __________ 5. Why? __________ You look like a freak, right? Now in a normal conversation, it would go something like: Oh, your biggest challenge is costs? Tell me more about it. Yes, i just don't have enough cash flow to open an office abroad. Where is your cash flow going instead? (that's a hidden why) It's going into our local activities. Why do you prefer spending money locally? Because we get more return on investment. etc etc.. I'm happy to jump on the phone to test this technique (it feels a bit awkward at the beginning but with some training it becomes natural). Serena

You should try to engage people using social networks, it is easier to spread than email. The conversion rate on emails are low but is still a valid tool for that. Send and email with a simple and objective message that will make people want to try. The best way to have feedback from users is to watch them use the app. You should put them on the hands of everybody that you can and without any instrucions and just watch, don´t even say that the app is yours. Try to do it a lot. If you want feedback from others, you can include the feedback form inside the app and suggest users to answer occasionally. I would also strongly recommend to use a tool as Flurry Analytics. Is the best way to get data from how is the use of the application. Pay attention to those data and be open to change your app a lot, you may need more features or cut some off to make it easier to use. If you need more help please contact me.