Venture Validation · Launch Factory
BuzzLink
A skilled trades hiring platform for electrical contractors. We ran a rigorous validation process and recommended against building it. That's the story.
The Problem
A client came to Launch Factory with a concept: a hiring platform purpose-built for electrical contractors. The pitch was that skilled trades hiring was broken — job boards were generic, temp agencies were expensive, and there was no product designed around how contractors actually hired.
The hypothesis was reasonable. The question was whether contractors would actually use something new, and whether BuzzLink could be differentiated enough to earn a place in their workflow.
The Approach
I led all field research. That meant going door-to-door at electrical contractors across Jacksonville, Phoenix, and Nashville — walking in cold, asking for 15 minutes, and running structured discovery conversations. We also reached out to 17 trade schools to understand the supply side.
To scale coverage, I hired and trained local researchers in Phoenix and Jacksonville. They ran the same protocol, and I QA'd their interviews. In total: 60 contractor conversations across three markets.
We used the MVP as a live tool during conversations — not a pitch, but a probe. I wanted to see how contractors reacted to the actual product, not a hypothetical. I managed the Bubble.io MVP throughout and wrote the final report with findings and recommendation.
By the Numbers
60
conversations
Door-to-door contractor outreach across Jacksonville, Phoenix, and Nashville.
17
training schools
Outreach to trade schools to understand the supply-side pipeline.
0 of 60
contractors joined
Not a single contractor signed up after seeing and using the MVP product.
3
cities
Hired and trained local researchers in Phoenix and Jacksonville for field coverage.
What We Found
Contractors hired on gut. They cared far more about cultural fit and referral signals than credentials or certifications. Hiring decisions were intuitive, relationship-driven, and often informal.
When shown BuzzLink, they didn't see it as differentiated from job boards they already knew — or from temp agencies they already used and mostly didn't love. The value proposition didn't land.
0 of 60 contractors joined.
That's not a rounding error. That's a signal.
The Recommendation
Don't build BuzzLink as scoped. The product-market fit isn't there, and the differentiation story doesn't hold up when you put it in front of the actual customer.
That said, the underlying problem space has legs. Contractors do struggle with hiring — they just don't solve it the way BuzzLink assumed. If the client wants to stay in this space, the better path is supply-side: tools that help trade schools surface job-ready graduates, or platforms that expand into adjacent trades verticals with a more differentiated wedge.
A kill decision backed by real field data is still a good outcome. We saved a client from building something the market didn't want.
Full report available upon request.