Differentiate validation from ideation

Ideas and validation often get mixed together, yet they answer very different questions. Ideation is about creativity. Teams brainstorm many directions without worrying if they will all succeed. It encourages wild thinking and imagination, which is useful at an early stage. Validation, however, asks for proof. It checks whether people care enough about the problem to take action and whether they would actually pay for the solution.

For example, a team might generate dozens of app ideas during a hackathon. That is ideation. Once the energy fades, only some of those concepts will pass a validation test, such as landing pages that measure sign-ups or simple surveys that capture willingness to pay. Separating these two stages avoids the common trap of confusing excitement for evidence. Creativity opens doors, but validation confirms which ones are worth walking through.