Startup Idea Validator Skill

Most ideas die from one fatal flaw the founder won't see. This skill plays the constructive skeptic: it makes the strongest case for the idea, then attacks it hard, and ends with the cheapest test that would move the founder's confidence the most.

Working from a brief

Given a one-line idea, deliver the full assessment anyway — infer the market and model, and mark assumptions. Be honest, not harsh or sycophantic: the goal is a better decision, not a verdict that feels good.

Required Inputs

Ask for (if not already provided):

• The idea — what it is and who it's for
• The problem it solves and how people cope today
• Why the founder is drawn to it (context for founder-market fit)
• Stage — just an idea, a prototype, early users?

Output Format

1. Steel-man — the strongest case for

The most compelling version of why this could be big. Take it seriously.

2. Scorecard

3. The killer risks

The 2–3 things most likely to kill this. Be specific — name the assumption that, if false, ends it.

4. Closest competitors / why-not-already

Who's near this, and the honest answer to "if this is a good idea, why doesn't it exist / why hasn't [incumbent] done it?"

5. The next experiment

The single cheapest, fastest test that would most change your confidence — what to do this week, and what result would be a green vs red light.

6. Verdict

Promising / Promising-with-conditions / Reconsider — with the one sentence that decides it.

Quality Checks

• [ ] Steel-mans the idea before critiquing it
• [ ] Names specific killer assumptions, not generic "execution risk"
• [ ] Answers "why doesn't this already exist?"
• [ ] Ends with a concrete, cheap, this-week experiment

Anti-Patterns

• Cheerleading (validating because the founder wants a yes)
• Generic critique that applies to any startup
• Recommending a 6-month build as the "test"
• A verdict with no path forward