Ask HN: How do I go about validating an idea?

11 points·yingw787··5 comments

Hey HN,

I live in Bethesda, MD, and I have an idea for an algorithm-based tool for value investors. It's going to take me a while to build it out, but I wanted to get some validation for the idea first. I have a landing page set up at the moment, but I'm not sure how to reach people. Any ideas?

The landing page is https://shortroad.yingw787.com

Any advice would be appreciated!

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The landing page tells me nothing about what you do, and your FAQ only a hint of it. And honestly it doesn't nothing to convince me that you actually provide value. It's not even clear that you have an 'algorithm' versus simply having parsed some financial statements.

First and foremost, an investor wants to know whether your algorithm works. Have you backtested it with price history, and then what are the performance metrics?

And if it works, then the obvious question is: why do you need to sell your service?

The other thing that I'd worry about as an investor is that oftentimes value stocks are cheap for a reason. It's one of the last places I'd want to algo trade.

* Remove all the boilerplate text from your landing page. Focus on what your algo does: why is it different from current existing solutions?

* Use metrics to demonstrate capability.

* Hit real investors and get real feedback.

Who is "Wilburn Preston -- Index Fund Manager" from the testimonial? Wouldn't that person know others in the industry?

You'll need to publish extensive back testing maybe 20 years to prove to the investor the system actually works, also you'll need to live trade it as well for few years and have audited real results... and check with your financial regulators what exactly you can advertise to avoid getting sued by SEC and the government...

Are you an investor yourself ?

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