The Secret to Launching with Confidence? ‘Will It Fly’ by Pat Flynn
Have you ever had a business idea that you think would be amazing if you just had the time, money, and guts to go for it?
In the book Will It Fly?, entrepreneur and business mentor Pat Flynn helps you work out whether to go out on a limb for your dream.
Pat’s practical approach doesn’t promise quick wins or a way to go viral on social media. It recommends a firm process for testing your idea, getting honest feedback, and ultimately creating a business that fits both your market and your lifestyle.
ScoreApp’s quiz technology fits perfectly into this plan, giving you a super-simple software tool to ask the right questions, gather insights, and test demand through interactive quizzes and assessments.
So in this blog post, we’re going to break down some key lessons from Will It Fly? and show you how ScoreApp can help you launch your big idea with confidence, clarity, and concrete data.
Let’s dive in.
1. Groundwork: What’s your big idea?
Before testing your business idea, you need to test yourself.
Will It Fly? talks about personal clarity. What’s the goal? First and foremost, your idea must match your values, your goals, and the lifestyle you want.
Pat recommends a “groundwork phase”, arguing that many businesses fail not because their founders have a bad idea, but because they look at the wrong version of success.
Here’s what to do instead:
- Know what you’re building
- Know why you’re building it
- Make sure your idea fits the big picture of your life
Being vague on these points is where many entrepreneurs slip up. Self-awareness is the foundation for everything that comes next.
How ScoreApp helps you get clarity on your business ideas
Here’s how you can use ScoreApp to lay your groundwork:
- Run a quiz to test your idea
Customize a template and run a quiz that asks you questions to test your business concept.
For example:
“What kind of business suits your lifestyle?” or
“Does your idea align with your long-term goals?”
This will reveal any blind spots and bring clarity before you invest time and money.
- Help your audience get clarity
Now build an assessment quiz for your ideal customer and use it to understand their pain points, needs, and mindset.
For example:
A quiz like “What’s holding you back from starting a business?” will help both you (and them) see what matters to them.
- Spot patterns in customer feedback
ScoreApp’s data dashboard is able to show you what people struggle with, what matters to them and give you valuable information to refine your idea – use it.
Key takeaway
“The best businesses are the ones that serve people well — starting with yourself.”
With ScoreApp, you get a smart, scalable way to test your idea on you and your market.
2. The Airport Test: Will your future self thank you?
Imagine you run into an old friend at an airport five years from now. They ask how things are going, and you get to say, “Amazing! My business is thriving. Life is great.”
What does that look like for you?
This is what Pat calls his “airport test”, and it’s a valuable lesson from Will It Fly?. This step is about outcomes. What kind of life do you want your business to support? When you know, then you can work out how to get there.
Do you want more freedom? More time with family? Do you want to travel or make a big impact on society?
Visualize what your dream looks like in real terms. Because unless your idea leads to a future you actually want, you’ll end up building a business you resent, not one you love.
How ScoreApp helps you shape a business you love
ScoreApp helps you with the airport test in a simple, powerful way.
Here’s what you can do:
- Create a clarity quiz for yourself
For example:
“What kind of business model suits your ideal lifestyle?” or
“Is your current direction aligned with your future goals?”
Show yourself different outcomes based on your priorities, e.g. freedom, flexibility, income, creativity and choose the direction that fits you.
- Build segmentation
Your results should be personal and unique. ScoreApp will avoid generalizing your results and group them based on factors like your lifestyle goals .
Key takeaway
“Don’t just chase success. Define it first.”
With ScoreApp, you can turn a fuzzy vision into something clear and measurable. That’s a future you can get behind.
3. Market research: Don’t assume—ask
Pat Flynn explains that most entrepreneurs skip an important step when they’re planning their business, and that’s talking to real people. They guess what their audience wants instead of asking them. The result? A product no one buys.
His approach to market research:
- Have real conversations
- Listen for pain points and desires
- Ask open-ended questions
- Look for patterns in the answers
In short, get out of your own head. Your business needs to address the problem it solves in someone else’s life.
How ScoreApp helps you scale market research
ScoreApp can help you turn this approach into something that’s naturally scalable.
Here’s how:
- Create a market research quiz
Title it something like:
“What’s your biggest challenge with X?” or
“Are you ready to launch your business?”
Make it useful and revealing so you can gather insights while still delivering value.
- Ask insightful questions
You can include open-text fields or use multiple choice questions that dig deep into your customers’ needs, frustrations, and motivations.
- Segment based on real pain points
ScoreApp tags responses so you can quickly see what problems are the most common and who has answered them in a particular way.
- Spot your signals
ScoreApp shows you trends on a dashboard (no spreadsheets required). Look for important patterns.
Key takeaway:
“You don’t need a massive audience. You just need a few people to tell you the truth.”
With ScoreApp, you can find those people and use their answers to guide your actions.
4. Solve a real problem with your offer
Once you’ve gathered truly insightful feedback, put it to use.
Pat Flynn teaches: Don’t build what you want, build what people need.
Create an offer that solves a specific, validated problem. One that your potential customers have told you they have and they want to solve.
Many entrepreneurs collect great insights, but then ignore them because they’re too caught up with their original idea.
Treat this step as an experiment. Build a beta version, test your messaging, get feedback, and improve. To build your business don’t just launch big, launch right.
How ScoreApp helps you shape and test your offer
ScoreApp can help you turn valuable insights into a compelling offer.
You can:
- Test different hooks and value propositions
Run a quiz to get feedback on different versions of your offer.
For example:
“Which digital product is right for you?” or
“What’s your marketing score and what’s missing?”
- Use quiz results to craft your offer
If 80% of quiz takers struggle with confidence but only 10% care about tools, then you’ll know where to focus your offer (and what to downplay).
- Tailor recommendations to each segment
ScoreApp segments quiz results based on answers, which means you can test multiple audiences without building separate landing pages or creating different funnels.
- Validate demand before building anything
Use your quiz results to offer an early-access list, a discovery call, or even market a pre-order. That’s real validation and how to build a smart business.
Key takeaway:
“When you solve the right problem for the right person, you don’t need to convince them. They’ll ask how to pay.”
ScoreApp helps you find the right problem.
5. Validation: Get real feedback (and sales)
After all your research and planning, it’s time to find out if people are willing to take action.
Pat recommends small, low-risk experiments like these:
- Share a landing page and track interest
- Offer a free download and measure signups
- Launch a beta version to a small group
- Build a waitlist before the full product exists
This step is all about capturing real interest, real intent and finally real action.
How ScoreApp helps you validate like a pro
ScoreApp is a powerful tool for this final step because it allows you to assess your target audience in real-time with minimal effort.
Here’s how you can do it:
- Build a pre-launch quiz
Create an engaging quiz like:
“Are you ready to start a coaching business?” or
“What’s your growth bottleneck?”
Follow up with a pre-sale offer or beta-test invite based on results.
- Segment responses to gauge readiness
Tag people who score high on intent (e.g. “I’m ready to invest now”) versus low (“Just curious”). You’ll know who’s warm enough for the next step.
- Use personalized results to drive conversions
ScoreApp’s results help you to use personalized marketing to speak directly to a customer’s challenge, and offer them the solution they just said they needed.
- Track conversion data and refine fast
ScoreApp’s analytics help you to see which quiz paths convert best, which customer offers drive action, and where drop-offs happen so you can keep testing and improve.
Key takeaway
“You don’t need a full product — you need a real result.”
With ScoreApp, you get real results fast.
Ready to see if your idea will fly?
Pat Flynn’s Will It Fly? is a step-by-step instruction manual to help entrepreneurs turn a great idea into a validated business that has strong roots in the real world.
ScoreApp is the tool to help you with this method every step of the way.
Whether you’re running early-stage market research, testing different offers, building a pre-launch funnel, or qualifying interest before you invest…
ScoreApp helps you:
- Ask the right questions
- Understand your audience
- Deliver personalised value
- And validate demand with real-time data
It’s a fast, flexible system made for entrepreneurs who want to turn dreams into smart, successful businesses.
Ready to test your idea the right way? Try ScoreApp for FREE today!
