A Field Guide for Startups
Becoming Unstuck
From Gift-Wrapped Indifference to Authentic Demand
Learn to distinguish authentic demand from polite encouragement — before you invest months building something nobody wants.
From Gift-Wrapped Indifference to Authentic Demand
Learn to distinguish authentic demand from polite encouragement — before you invest months building something nobody wants.
This book helps you prove it.
"That sounds interesting!" they say. But interesting doesn't pay the bills. Polite encouragement has killed more startups than bad code ever will.
— The problem this book solvesThrough "micro-interactions" — brief, focused conversations with real potential buyers — you'll learn to detect the critical difference between a "sounds interesting" lead and a genuine "I need this now" customer.
Identify buyers who feel genuine urgency to act — not just polite interest.
5-7 minute conversations that reveal what months of building cannot.
Test any business idea in about two hours with the 4-gate assessment.
Find the reliable routes through which your solution reaches buyers.
Measure what people do, not what they say they'll do.
Turn your discovery into narratives that drive action.
Becoming Unstuck is available now in paperback and ebook.
Also available wherever books are sold.
Ed Rieker is a serial entrepreneur with four healthcare software companies and three successful exits, including two acquisitions by public companies. He's the co-inventor of US Patent 5,832,447 for an automated health insurance verification system.
As an educator, Ed has guided hundreds of founders through early-stage validation as a Venture Catalyst at Georgia Tech's Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) and through his work developing the Emory Startup Launch program at Emory University's Goizueta Business School.