The 5-minute exercise that saved me 6 months

Last week I had a business idea. D2C flower dropshipping. 20 tulips, fast shipping, great margins on paper. I was ready to build.

A friend said: "Premortem it first."

I spent 5 minutes imagining it already failed 6 months from now. The results:

❌ Cold chain logistics kills the margin

❌ VAT + EORI across EU countries eats the rest

❌ Return rate on perishables is uninsurable

❌ Even established players can't make online flowers work

Verdict: Don't build.

5 minutes vs 6 months of learned lessons. That's the value of a Pre-Mortem.

What's a Pre-Mortem?

Instead of asking "will this work?" → imagine it already failed and explain why .

Gary Klein published it in Harvard Business Review (2007).…