DAVID J. BLAND
Assurance Partner / Reality-Based Innovation
David J. Bland is the co-author of Testing Business Ideas and founder of Precoil. He helps executives make assured decisions—Commit, Correct, or Cut—before committing millions, using a proven system of Reality-Based Innovation and innovation risk management.
As an independent arbiter of reality, David works with leadership teams to surface hidden risks in growth strategies and issue evidence-based verdicts in weeks. His work has protected companies from wasting millions on bets that won’t scale—and created millions more by proving which ideas drive growth.
Before founding Precoil, David spent 11 years in startups—one success, two failures—that revealed a consistent pattern: companies ignored customer problems and built what they thought was right. That experience shaped his approach. For the past decade, he has guided Fortune 500 leaders in embedding business model testing and reality-based gates into their funding decisions, ensuring capital is allocated with evidence, not opinions.
Today, David partners with executives worldwide as a keynote speaker, corporate innovation advisor, and growth strategy partner—delivering assurance for bold strategies, protecting capital, reducing risk, and scaling what works.
PROBLEM SOLVER
David J. Bland has a three-step process:
1
Extract Assumptions
Surface the desirability, viability, and feasibility assumptions behind your idea.
2
Map Assumptions
Prioritize what matters most—focusing on the areas with the highest risk and least evidence.
3
Test Assumptions
Run targeted experiments on the riskiest assumptions and feed the results back into smarter decisions.
THE BOOK – TESTING BUSINESS IDEAS
A Guide to Efficient Testing of Business Models
Most new products fail, but Testing Business Ideas shows leaders how to flip those odds. Building on Alex Osterwalder’s Business Model Generation, this practical guide equips teams with proven techniques to validate ideas quickly and decisively.
By making assumptions explicit and testing them with evidence, the book helps organizations reduce risk, avoid wasted investment, and increase the likelihood of scalable success. It extends the Business Model Canvas and Value Proposition Canvas with Assumptions Mapping and a library of lean, real-world experiments that turn bold strategies into reality-tested decisions.
Testing Business Ideas delivers a practical, visual guide for turning bold strategies into evidence-based decisions.
Reduce wasted time, money, and resources by exposing weak ideas early.
Close the gap between high-level strategy and hands-on validation.
Surface and test critical assumptions using tools like the Business Model and Value Proposition Canvases.
This manual helps leaders replace intuition with facts—embedding an experimental mindset and building a repeatable process for making confident, scalable growth decisions.
Verified Great reference book on how to validate business ideas Really enjoyed this book and wish I knew of it earlier. I found it to be a great overview into new ways of validating ideas before sinking too much spending too much time and effort on them. Also has a great framework for how to run validation exercise from start to finish. Useful as both an initial textbook for those looking to understand the how and why of testing business ideas, as well as a reference book those more experienced.
Verified Great reference books for entrepreneurs I wish I had this earlier in my entrepreneurial journey. It is a great reference book to understand how to test your ideas and bring it to market successfully.
Verified Practical and useful Easy to follow, good examples and templates, light to read in terms of language and layout
Verified Ton of wisdom and techniques I learned a lot from reading this book. Full of illustrations and good ideas t9 try. Highly recommended for anyone in product space
Verified strategic planning and execution for testing a business idea Very detailed description and explanations. Provides a lot of structure to follow. Would recommend if you are testing a business idea. This book gives you step by step guidance on what steps you can take to test the idea.
Verified nice paper quality and printing The paper quality is very high and feels very good reading it.
Verified Gran libro, una maravillosa herramienta de aprendizaje Una maravillosa herramienta para lanzar prototipos, entender los elementos principales del BMC y tomar en cuenta todo el proceso de diseño funcional del prototipo. Simplemente genial!
Verified An excellent addition to The Strategyzer Series. An excellent addition to The Strategyzer Series.
Verified Libro de trabajo para innovadores y emprendedores Seas un emprendedor independiente o dentro de una organización, si te dedicas a desarrollar nuevas ideas y modelos de negocio, debe completar tu serie de libros e incorporar éste a tu colección.No es un libro de lectura amena, es un manual con herramientas de trabajo.
Verified Genau auf den Punkt formuliert Ich habe das Buch auf Empfehlung eines Kollegen gekauft und kann es für Produkt Manager (in der Softwareentwicklung) sehr empfehlen, die sich mit dem Testen von Geschäftsideen befassen.Das Buch ist super strukturiert. Besonders mag ich, dass einfache Zusammenhänge nicht erst einmal in ewig langem Fließtext erläutert werden. Stattdessen sind die Kernaussagen mit dem nötigen Text und grafischer Aufbereitung schön aussagekräftig auf Doppelseiten zusammengefasst.
Verified No one should start a business before reading this book... David Bland takes the reader through 44 real case studies on how to test your business idea before you spend too much time, money, or energy on it... save yourself possibly a lot of grief by reading this book before developing your business.These real-life tests work whether your business is a product, a service, is web-based, or Brick & Mortar. And the same goes for whether you are a sole proprietor, a small business owner, or part of a large business...Bland has got you covered.(And if you really want to get your game on, get a copy of Steven Blank's "The Startup Owner's Manual" as well...!)
Verified Easily digestible format I have been quite familiar with the Strategyzer series of books as I have used the Business Model Canvas in my previous startup work.This is one of the newer books in the series, and I purchased it as my current work involves running early stage business experiments. As expected from the series, there are nice illustrations accompanying the concepts introduced and tools to help on the different processes.The book arrived via international mail with the only downside being a flimsy envelope which caused the book to bend slightly at the lower half and it was not in mint condition.
Verified It’s about..testing business ideas It’s a nice book. It is very graphics oriented - basically a book of bullet points. There is a catalogue and taxonomy of methods for ……testing business ideas. If somebody wants to … test business ideas…this book will help you sound smart.
Verified THE approach to validate new ideas This is a great book, a book that can really change the way you see the world. At least that happened to me when I first read it. Today the book is always on top of my desk.What I like so much about the book is that is a confluence of strategy, methodology and practical guide to test new business ideas.If you have a role in innovation or if you are an entrepreneur, this book is a must. This is THE approach you need to have if you want to know as fast as possible if you have something that is worth it.If you believe in Lean Startup, but you don't understand exactly how you can put it in practice, this book shows you the way.
Verified Useful content. Really poor quality binding. This guide has some useful content but I have used it VERY lightly and it is falling apart. Some pages have come completely loose after just two or three times of opening the book.
Verified O livro esta se desfazendo a cada página q viro Muito bom o conteúdo, vou usar bastante 👍
Verified Book binding not holding up Book itself is great. Disappointed that upon first opening, the book binding is already falling apart and pages are falling out.
Verified A field guide embracing the idea of experimenting on your way to execution Incredibly useful and practical. Their website has a variety of resources as well, many for free. The book is a field guide so not one you’d read cover to cover but more apply to specific situations. I am actively using these concepts in my professional work. Highly recommend!
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WORK WITH DAVID
Steps Leaders Can Take
Don’t wait until years of wasted investment to say, “I wish we had brought David in sooner.” Too many companies spend millions building products nobody wants—only to realize too late that the bets were never grounded in evidence.
David J. Bland helps executives prevent that cycle. Not every idea will succeed, but every test delivers clarity: Commit, Correct, or Cut. Instead of relying on intuition, he brings quantitative and qualitative evidence leaders can defend. The result? Smarter capital allocation, faster decisions, and the confidence to scale what works.
“It was over the holiday break when I decided to launch my own firm. My first project was a retail experimentation initiative for a large company, which I ran straight through Christmas. That early engagement validated the need for reality-based decision-making, and soon after I signed another client, and then another. Fast forward to today, and I have a track record with some of the world’s biggest companies, helping their leaders test bold ideas against reality.”
David J. Bland
David has been helping organizations test and scale bold ideas since 2010, working with agencies, startups, and Fortune 500 executives alike. Along the way, he realized the need for an independent standard—and founded Precoil to provide it.
He is the bestselling author of Testing Business Ideas, a sought-after keynote speaker at global conferences, and a trusted partner to executives who need evidence-based decisions before committing millions.
What Clients Say About Us
David integrates proven strategy and innovation tools with your team’s expertise to deliver results. Drawing from lean startup, design thinking, agile, and business model innovation, he adapts the approach to fit your context. The outcome is both practical and engaging—your team learns by doing while moving closer to its goals.
"David is our journey partner for fast-learning and de-risking. He helps us keep innovation and sustainability priorities interwoven to find new value and growth.”
Alexa Dembek - DuPont
“David’s advising helped us apply lean startup to our new mobility products and services, by rapidly testing them in the market.”
Vinuth Rai
TOYOTAWhat Clients Say About Us
David blends proven innovation frameworks with your team’s expertise to deliver results. By tailoring methods like lean startup, design thinking, and business model innovation to your context, he creates an engaging, hands-on experience where teams learn while making real progress toward their goals.
