How I Tested That
with David J Bland
Stories about testing product, service and business ideas.
Testing your ideas against reality can be challenging. Not everything will go as planned. It’s about keeping an open mind, having a clear hypothesis and running multiple tests to see if you have enough directional evidence to keep going.
This is the How I Tested That Podcast, where David J Bland connects with entrepreneurs and innovators who had the courage to test their ideas with real people, in the market, with sometimes surprising results.
Join us as we explore the ups and downs of experimentation… together.
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Season 3
In this episode, Maggie shares how she tested her early MVP with a Google Form, hand-packed boxes, and no real payment system. Now her business is thriving and we discuss how to test retail, styling and clothing subscriptions.
In this episode, Eric shares how his team uncovered a breakthrough business by integrating mental health directly into orthopedic recovery.
In this episode, Courtney and Slava share how they learned to stop trying to serve every pet owner, focus on their ideal customer, and transform retail from a transaction into an ongoing relationship.
In this episode, Chris gives a candid behind the scenes look into what’s working, what’s failing, and why experimentation itself may become one of the most important capabilities in the AI era.
In this episode, Chad and I discuss how AI is fundamentally reshaping the way modern product teams test, ship, and learn. We deep dive into how product managers and support teams are submitting pull requests themselves.
In this episode, Büşra and I explore how she approaches product discovery and testing. From building zero-to-one products at Doodle to coaching teams across B2B and B2C environments.
In this episode, Gil and I explore how he went from a 15-year career in film editing to building a construction business that helps homeowners unlock equity and create new living spaces.
In this episode, Bill and I explore how he went from building Nerf gun prototypes at MIT to creating a space where thousands of hardware founders can prototype, test, and scale physical products.
In this episode, Akvile and I discuss how she tested a TikTok influencer pimple that promotes her AI-powered skin health technology, used by more than 800,000 people around the world.
In this episode, Jim and I discuss his wake-up call that pushed him from building first to testing first and how he tests his teaching process with his students at Berkeley.
In this episode, Dan and I discuss the evolution of product management, the impact of vibe coding, and the importance of cross-functional collaboration.
Season 2
In this episode, David explains how they are testing their way into luxury portable restrooms, showers, beverage trailers, and beyond.
In this episode, Aurora shares how she tested an innovative publishing company that helps you launch as a thought leader.
In this episode we interview Scott McLeod. Scott is the Chief Brand Officer of Resident, a direct-to-consumer company that designs and sells home furnishings such as mattresses and bedding. They were acquired by Ashley in 2024 for $1 billion.
JL discusses the challenges of making innovation stick, the role of customer feedback, and the significance of using the right language to engage teams and leaders.
Cathy shares her journey into the world of worms, detailing how her business was born when the local landfill was shut down and the city began exporting all of their waste.
Michael shares his story of how he tested his new, open-ear bone conduction headphones with amplification, before bringing them to market.
Moita shares his journey from studying aerospace engineering to becoming a product manager and eventually creating what is now called Product Weekend.
Charles shares his journey from the entertainment industry to becoming the CTO of the Clippers. We dug into how experimentation can improve the NBA fan experience.
Hala chats about how the term Minimum Viable Product has evolved over the last decade and how lean startup principles can be applied to community building.
Dr. Micheal talks about improving your hiring practices through data-driven testing and iteration.
Alberto discusses how he coined the term "pretotyping” while working at Google and why you still need to test for desirability.
Sylvia shares how a company can start out as a solution to a personal problem, but in order to be a viable business, we need to perform customer discovery beyond friends and family to see if there is any traction.
Dylan Lam shares how he tested his dropshipping business and why crowdfunding platforms can help you create a community of early adopters.
Matthew Davis shares his journey in the legal profession, discussing the challenges and assumptions he faced when starting his own law firm.
Pat Copeland shares his first hand account of how the Dash Button idea was originally tested at Amazon.
Matt discusses the importance of testing and analyzing content to achieve success, particularly in the realm of social media.
Ann discusses the challenges faced in the coaching industry and the significance of targeting the right market for premium clients.
In this episode Deon discusses the importance of testing and problem-solving in SaaS payment and risk protection.
In this episode Chris discusses the significance of customer feedback in marketing, movies and video game design.
In this episode Erich discusses how he tests video production using the latest AI tools.
In this conversation, David J Bland and Michael Clifford discuss the intersection of habitat design, conservation, and design thinking.
Season 1
In this episode Bruce and Melissa share their insights on product management, stakeholder alignment, and the journey of writing their new book, 'Aligned.'
In this conversation, we explore the journey of testing and building Perceptional, a tool designed to enhance user research through AI.
We discuss insights on building resilience in business and the importance of experimentation in product development.
We explore the evolution of experimentation in tech, discussing how perspectives on experimentation practices have shifted over the years.
We discuss their journey in scaling their training business, focusing on the assumptions, risks, and testing methods they are employing.
Eddy and I talked about his marketplace that connects consumers to local retail shops to purchase unsold food at a discounted price.
Victoria and I talked about the challenges of providing information to people who always want the right answer, even early on in their process when uncertainty is high.
Ali Jiwani shares his entrepreneurial journey, from starting a food delivery platform to building Slay School, a personalized learning platform.
Marc Wandler, the co-founder of Susgrainable, shares his journey of turning beer waste into sustainable flour and baked goods.
Maura Mitchell, a lawyer and MBA, shares her work at the Women's Business Development Center, helping micro businesses test their assumptions and scale.
Janna Bastow shares her insights on testing pricing packages and discusses the importance of understanding the different roles in B2B purchasing.
Andi Plantenberg shares her experience with testing and experimentation, particularly in the context of NASA missions to the moon.
Aaron Eden shares his background and experience with experimentation, particularly within Intuit's Design for Delight (D4D) and Innovation Catalyst programs.
Brandy and Craig discuss their collaboration and the challenges they faced in teaching entrepreneurship and de-risking startups
Kate Hopkins shares her journey of building OneGuide, a platform that provides leverage to PE and VC firms, emphasizing the need for patience and the willingness to iterate and adapt along the way.
Aaron Slessinger, a product leader at HP, discusses the challenges of testing hardware and software together, specifically in the context of hot desking and hybrid work environments.
Markus shares his journey of testing ideas and building a business in the heavily regulated healthcare industry. He emphasizes the importance of testing assumptions and using experiments to validate ideas.
In this episode, Janina shares the story of how her team tested the idea of a dog shower as a new product. The tests ranged from customer interviews and desk research to pretotyping and 3D printing and more.
In this episode, Dave Masters shares his insights on testing and experimentation in big companies. He discusses the need for testing and how to break out of the feature factory mindset.
In this conversation, Chris Guest discusses the importance of understanding problem perception and the nuances of desirability testing.
About Your Host, David J Bland
David J Bland is the co-author of Testing Business Ideas and founder of Precoil, where he developed the EMT System (Extract–Map–Test) a decision-readiness standard for high-uncertainty, high-capital strategic bets.
He helps executive teams build decision infrastructure that makes risk explicit, shared, and testable before major funding, momentum, and sunk costs make decisions harder to change.
The result is clear Commit, Correct, or Cut verdicts backed by evidence, not opinion, slide decks, or forced consensus.
Testing Business Ideas (Wiley), co-authored with Alexander Osterwalder, has sold more than 100,000 copies in over 20 languages and is used by organizations worldwide to systematically test assumptions.
David works with Fortune 500 leadership teams and leading institutions including Stanford University, Harvard University, and Yale University.
His focus is not innovation theater or idea generation, but installing durable systems that allow leaders to think big, test small, and commit deliberately.
Turn What You Heard Into New Growth
Before organizations commit serious capital, teams need confidence that the assumptions behind growth initiatives can survive reality.
Precoil helps leaders resolve uncertainty before expensive decisions move forward.