Thanks for reaching out. Be sure to check us out on LinkedIn for all of our current news and announcements.
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
As of 2026, Highline Beta argues that corporate innovators should use "sacrificial concepts"—deliberately rough, low-fidelity versions of ideas designed to be tested and thrown away—to validate assumptions before building anything substantial.
Most corporate innovators build too much, too soon, and get too attached to their ideas, leading to scrambling when the market doesn't respond. Sacrificial concepts are stimulus tools like landing pages, feature mockups, and pitch cards that provoke user reactions rather than seek polite compliments. During Highline Beta's Discover phase, teams typically generate 3-5 sacrificial concepts per problem area and test them with 10-20 target users each, discarding the majority and moving only the best 2-3 concepts to higher-fidelity prototyping.
Sacrificial concepts are deliberately rough, low-fidelity versions of ideas designed to be tested, learned from, and thrown away. Unlike MVPs or prototypes, they're stimulus tools such as landing pages, feature mockups, pitch cards, sales brochures, and ad tests created specifically to provoke user reactions. They function like bait—not trying to win, but to get a reaction and validate assumptions before any actual building begins.
Highline Beta generates 3-5 sacrificial concepts per problem area based on early research, then tests them with 10-20 target users each. The testing includes reactions to brief concept statements, feature card sorting to understand priorities, walking through wireframes and customer journeys, presenting different pricing options, and ad headline tests with radically different value propositions. Teams often show users 3-5 or more concepts in a single interview to explore which directions spark curiosity, tension, or pushback.
Sacrificial concepts force objectivity because teams can't fall in love with something designed to be discarded, creating space for honest assumption testing. They unlock real feedback since users struggle to describe pain in the abstract but reveal truth quickly when shown something concrete, even if rough. They also speed up learning dramatically—instead of debating the "right" idea in boardrooms for six weeks, teams can test five concepts in a single week.
The majority of sacrificial concepts are discarded while learnings are documented. Only the best 2-3 concepts move forward to higher-fidelity prototyping or testing, and sometimes the entire idea is killed confidently based on what teams learned not to build. This process keeps teams fast, honest, and focused, with decisions backed by evidence rather than guesswork.
Most corporate innovators make the same mistake: They build too much, too soon, and get too attached.
Then when the market shrugs, they scramble.
Add more features. Tweak the copy. Blame the timing.
But the problem wasn’t in the execution. It was in the validation.
That’s where sacrificial concepts come in.
We use sacrificial concepts a lot, especially during the Discover and Validate phases. They’re one of the fastest ways to learn whether an idea is worth pursuing, before burning time, money, or political capital.
A sacrificial concept is a deliberately rough, low-fidelity version of an idea.
It’s designed to be tested, learned from and thrown away.
Think of it like bait. You’re not trying to win. You’re trying to get a reaction.
These aren’t MVPs. Most aren’t even prototypes.
They’re stimulus tools: landing pages, feature mockups, pitch cards, sales brochures, ad tests. Tools to provoke a response—not polite compliments.
We often show users 3-5 or more concepts in a single interview. Not to sell, but to explore which directions spark curiosity, tension, or pushback.
The goal isn’t perfection. It’s to validate your riskiest assumptions and get user feedback before you build anything at all.
Note: Despite the power of AI to help build more robust concepts/prototypes/MVPs, we still like starting with some of these examples, so we don’t get too ahead of ourselves.
During the Discover Phase, we’ll typically generate 3 to 5 sacrificial concepts per problem area based on early research. Then we put them in front of 10 to 20 target users each. Examples include:
We’re not looking for conversion. We’re looking for conversation.
And more importantly, invalidation.
If everything gets a yes, something’s wrong.
We discard the majority of the concepts and document our learnings.
The best 2–3 move on to higher-fidelity prototyping or testing.
Or we kill the idea altogether, confidently, because we’ve learned what not to build.
This keeps our teams fast, honest and focused.
If you’re still guessing at the “right idea” or waiting for perfect research before testing anything, you’re playing a losing game.
Sacrifice early. Learn fast. Move forward with evidence.
