Zil Money CEO says early customer discovery can help entrepreneurs test demand, customer problems and existing alternatives before building detailed forecasts.
TYLER, Texas, Sept. 11, 2026 — Sabeer Nelli, founder and CEO of Zil Money, is encouraging young entrepreneurs to speak with potential customers early and use what they learn to strengthen their business plans.
His advice is not to abandon planning. It is to avoid turning untested assumptions into detailed forecasts before founders understand the people they hope to serve.
The approach is consistent with established small-business guidance. The U.S. Small Business Administration’s market research guidance says market research can help confirm and improve a business idea and identifies in-depth interviews as one form of direct customer research. The SBA also describes a business plan as an important roadmap for starting, operating and growing a company.
That makes customer discovery and business planning complementary. Early conversations can help founders understand how potential customers handle a problem today, what alternatives they already use, what those alternatives cost and what could motivate them to change.
“A business plan is useful, but its assumptions should come from the market, not only from the founder,” Nelli said. “Talk to customers early, learn how they solve the problem today, and then use what you learn to make the plan more realistic.”
Customer discovery is also built into formal entrepreneurship programs. The National Science Foundation’s I-Corps program requires national teams to conduct at least 100 potential-customer interviews during its seven-week training program as they evaluate the commercial potential of their technologies.
Nelli recommends that first-time founders start with practical questions rather than pitching their idea immediately. They can ask potential customers how they currently handle the problem, when it last occurred, what it costs them in money or time, and why they chose their current solution.
The purpose is to identify evidence that may support, challenge or reshape the founder’s original assumptions.
He also encourages entrepreneurship programs, mentors and campus incubators to make customer discovery an early part of the startup process. A founder can then use those findings when defining the target market, value proposition, pricing assumptions and sales strategy in a formal business plan.
For young entrepreneurs, Nelli’s central message is simple: planning still matters, but a plan becomes more useful when its assumptions have been tested outside the founder’s own team.
About Sabeer Nelli
Sabeer Nelli is the founder and CEO of Zil Money, ZilUS and OnlineCheckWriter.com. His work spans entrepreneurship, financial technology and business payments.
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