Got a Business idea that you're trying to validate? Let's go! Here's my take:
Build something you can show ASAP
List all the firms that might be interested in having this convo in a Spreadsheet
Day 1: Find the person with the right title within this firm & find their email address
Day 2: Add them on LinkedIn
Day 4: Send them a message that looks like this "Hello Jon, I'm building ACME which (problem he has that you solve), looking for feedback from people in the industry. Firms like (his company) typically get (results, money they save/make) in (timeline). Interested in exploring?"
Keep going, if we're talking about 100 firms, it shouldn't take more than 2 days
Day 8: Send email #3 (you should have gotten between 0 and 5 replies by now) asking: "Hey Jon, how do you deal with (the problem you solve)? Building ACME and gathering feedback from real people in the ABC industry. Want to share your opinion? I'll get you coffee"
Day 10: Check if you connected on LinkedIn, if so, thank them
Check if you can find them somewhere else (Twitter? Any relevant community in your space?) and hit them there
Day 15: Send email #3 "Jon - I made some assumptions about your challenges, if any of these resonate, would you consider hopping on a quick call? list of 3 challenges under
Day 18: Send a LinkedIn voice note, casual, explaining why you're excited to talk to them (less than 20 seconds)
Day 22: email #4 (hail marry) Hi Jon - was trying to pick your brains on (value prop of your firm), no luck this time, but I still believe! I'll get back to you in probably 6 months when we IPO (or at least work with your competitor).
At any point, when they answer, get them on the phone (or on the Zoom!) and ask questions, provide substance and interesting takeaways about the problem you solve. Put them somewhere in your Excel sheet as "qualified" or "not qualified" depending on the outcome and get back to them when your product is viable.
All the best!