Pretotyping
Use it when you need to validate a product concept fast without building it.
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What is it?
Pretotyping is a lean testing methodology pioneered by Alberto Savoia that helps you gauge real user interest before you write a single line of code or build a full prototype.
It's built around the idea that most product failures stem from lack of market demand rather than poor execution. By ‘pretending' your product exists through quick, low-cost experiments, like a fake landing page, a manual fulfillment process, or a minimalist mock-up, you capture genuine behavioral data on clicks, sign-ups, or pre-orders. Pretotyping's core techniques include Fake Door, Infiltrator, Mechanical Turk, the Pinocchio, and the One-Night Stand, each tailored to different risk points and domains.
The framework solves the fundamental problem of wasteful development by letting you test your riskiest assumptions in hours instead of weeks. If you prioritize learning speed and resource efficiency over polished deliverables, Pretotyping will save you money, time, and false starts.
Why it matters?
Pretotyping slashes time-to-insight and development waste by letting you test core product assumptions in days, not months. For growth teams, that means you discover high-leverage features with real traction signals, double down on what users actually want, and accelerate your path to product-market fit, driving higher conversion rates and more efficient R&D investment.
How it works
Growth co-pilot turns your toughest product questions into clear, data-backed recommendations you can act on immediately.
1
Identify your riskiest assumption
Define the single leap-of-faith belief (e.g., “Users will pay $10/month”) that must hold true for your product to work.
2
Set clear success metrics
Choose one or two measurable outcomes, click-through rate, sign-up conversions, or pre-order counts, to judge demand.
3
Pick a pretotyping technique
Match your assumption to the right method
4
Build the minimal experiment
Spin up a quick landing page, manual process, or mock-up, skip code, back-end or polished design.
5
Drive real traffic
Use paid ads, social posts, or niche communities to funnel genuine users into your experiment.
6
Analyze, iterate or kill
Compare outcomes against your metrics, learn whether to pivot, persevere or pause before you invest in a prototype.
Frequently asked questions
Growth co-pilot turns your toughest product questions into clear, data-backed recommendations you can act on immediately.
You've pretotyped your concept and proven real demand, now fire up the CrackGrowth diagnostic to uncover hidden friction in your validated flow and blueprint rapid experiments that scale.