1. Selling Vaporware (Ethically)
TL;DR > A smoke test is a product facade. It looks real to the user, but when they try to use it, you capture their intent instead of delivering a product.
The term "Smoke Test" comes from plumbing, where plumbers blow smoke into pipes to find leaks before turning the water on. In startups, it means blowing traffic into a landing page to find demand before turning the engineering on.
6 Months
Average Time Saved
Founders who run a successful smoke test before building an MVP save an average of 6 months of wasted engineering time.
2. The Painted Door Technique
The most aggressive form of a smoke test is the "Painted Door." You put a button on your site that says "Buy Now for $99." It looks like a real button. When the user clicks it, a modal pops up:
*"We are currently at capacity for this feature! Enter your email to get early access when we open up more slots."*
You just measured 100% genuine purchase intent, because the user thought they were actually about to pay.
Painted Door Conversion Drop-off
The funnel from viewing a fake feature to showing purchase intent.
3. Is It Ethical?
Yes, as long as you do not actually charge their credit card. Never take money for a product you can't deliver (unless it's explicitly stated as a pre-order or crowdfunding campaign).
Once your smoke test succeeds, you are ready for the final stage. Read How to Validate an MVP Before Building It.