Avoiding Late-Stage Concept Failure: Iterative Testing Before Costly Validation

Late-stage concept failure is often not caused by weak ideas, but by insufficient learning early in the process. Teams move into expensive quantitative validation with flat or reassuring scores, yet without clear guidance on what truly differentiates ideas or how they should be refined.

This session explores how an iterative, early-stage testing approach can help reduce risk before major investments are made.

Key topics covered:

• Why traditional early concept testing often leads to flat results and late-stage surprises.
• How iterative testing turns validation from a one-off checkpoint into a continuous capability.
• How AI-moderated, one-to-one interviews at scale combine qualitative depth with quant-style confidence.
• How teams gain clear refinement directions and deprioritise weak ideas before costly quant validation.