startup-idea-validation
Use when validating a startup idea before building. Produces evidence-based GO/NO-GO decisions using a 9-dimension scorecard (problem, market, timing, moat, unit economics, founder-market fit, feasibility, GTM, risk), a validation ladder (interviews - smoke test - concierge/WoZ - paid pilot), and riskiest-assumption-first experiments.
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Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/vasilyu1983/ai-agents-public --skill startup-idea-validation- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads startup-idea-validation automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
Startup Idea Validation
Systematic validation for testing ideas before building: define hypotheses, collect evidence, score the opportunity, and make a decision you can defend.
Operating Principles (2026)
- Prefer decisions over inventories: each dimension ends with
GO / CONDITIONAL / PIVOT / NO-GOand a next action. - Separate evidence quality from confidence: weak evidence cannot justify a high score.
- Pre-register thresholds and stop rules before running experiments (avoid moving goalposts).
- Validate willingness-to-pay and time-to-value early (price is part of the product).
- Calibrate thresholds to the target outcome (venture-scale vs cash-flow business) and business model (B2B SaaS, B2C, marketplace, services).
- Stay safe and ethical: no misrepresentation, respect ToS, and handle customer data with minimization and retention limits.
Intake Checklist (Ask First)
- One-sentence idea + target user + job-to-be-done
- Business model: B2B/B2C, SaaS/usage-based/marketplace/services, ACV/ARPU range
- Geography, constraints (regulated domain, procurement/security requirements, data access)
- Target outcome: venture-scale, profitable small business, or thesis-driven R&D
- Current evidence: interviews, pilots, pre-sales, traffic, competitor list, pricing assumptions
Choose the Right Output
| If the user asks… | Produce… | Use… |
|---|---|---|
| “Validate this idea” / “Is this worth building?” | 9-dimension scorecard + verdict | validation-scorecard.md, go-no-go-decision.md |
| “What’s the riskiest assumption?” | RAT + test plan | riskiest-assumption-test.md, validation-experiment-planner.md |
| “Test my hypothesis” | Hypothesis canvas + experiment design | hypothesis-canvas.md, hypothesis-testing-guide.md |
| “Market size for X” | TAM/SAM/SOM sizing + assumptions table | market-sizing-worksheet.md, market-sizing-patterns.md |
| “Can this be profitable / what’s my runway?” | Unit economics + runway + scenarios | financial-modeling-calculator.md |
| “Should I build X or Y?” | Comparative scorecard + decision memo | validation-scorecard.md, go-no-go-decision.md |
Workflow
- Clarify the target outcome and business model; set default thresholds accordingly.
- Identify the RAT (the assumption that kills the business if wrong).
- Plan the validation ladder: interviews -> smoke test -> concierge/WoZ -> paid pilot.
- Run the cheapest falsifiable test first; pre-register PASS/FAIL thresholds and stop rules.
- Score all 9 dimensions using evidence; downgrade scores when evidence is weak.
- Produce a decision memo: verdict, why, what would change the decision, and the next smallest reversible step.
9-Dimension Scorecard
| Dimension | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Problem severity | 15% | Urgency, cost of inaction, current workarounds |
| Market size | 12% | Sufficient demand for the target outcome |
| Market timing | 10% | Clear “why now” and tailwinds |
| Competitive moat | 12% | Defensibility over time |
| Unit economics | 15% | Profit path (incl. payback and margins) |
| Founder-market fit | 8% | Access, expertise, and execution capability |
| Technical feasibility | 10% | Buildability, dependencies, constraints |
| GTM clarity | 10% | ICP, channels, motion, first customers |
| Risk profile | 8% | What can kill it and likelihood |
Verdict thresholds (default):
80–100: GO60–79: CONDITIONAL (validate RAT first)40–59: PIVOT<40: NO-GO
Deep scoring rubrics and calibration live in validation-methodology.md.
Evidence Rules
- Strong evidence is behavioral commitment with cost (time, money, switching, access); weak evidence is opinions and hypotheticals.
- Triangulate important claims across at least two sources (especially market sizing and competitor state).
- Keep an evidence trail: link + capture month; separate “fact” vs “assumption”.
Validation Ladder (Default)
| Step | Goal | Strong signal |
|---|---|---|
| Interviews | Validate the problem and context | Repeated pain with real workarounds and spend |
| Smoke test | Validate demand | Qualified conversion with price shown |
| Concierge/WoZ | Validate workflow value | Users complete the job and return |
| Paid pilot | Validate willingness-to-pay | Paid, renewed, or expanded |
AI / Automation Notes (2026)
If the idea depends on AI (agents, copilots, automation), validate these explicitly:
- Data rights and access: can you legally and reliably access required data?
- Reliability: define success metrics, failure modes, and human fallback; validate on real workflows.
- Cost-to-serve: model inference + retrieval + human-in-the-loop costs in
assets/financial-modeling-calculator.md.
See hypothesis-testing-guide.md for AI-specific experiment patterns.
Integration Points
Receives From
- startup-review-mining - Pain point evidence
- startup-trend-prediction - Market timing inputs
- startup-competitive-analysis - Competitor landscape
Feeds Into
- router-startup - Startup decision routing
- product-management - Validated requirements and roadmap inputs
- startup-business-models - Monetization and packaging decisions
Resources
| Resource | Purpose |
|---|---|
| validation-methodology.md | Scoring rubrics and calibration |
| hypothesis-testing-guide.md | Experiment design and RAT workflows |
| market-sizing-patterns.md | TAM/SAM/SOM methods and pitfalls |
| moat-assessment-framework.md | Defensibility analysis |
| customer-interview-guide.md | Interview methodology, scripts, and analysis |
| landing-page-validation.md | Smoke tests, conversion benchmarks, landing page tools |
| competitive-landscape-assessment.md | Competitive scan, gap analysis, market mapping |
| pivot-framework.md | Pivot triggers, types, decision framework, case studies (Slack, Instagram, Shopify) |
Templates
| Template | Purpose |
|---|---|
| validation-scorecard.md | Full 9-dimension scoring |
| go-no-go-decision.md | Decision memo format |
| hypothesis-canvas.md | Hypothesis definition |
| validation-experiment-planner.md | Experiment planning + thresholds |
| riskiest-assumption-test.md | RAT identification and test design |
| market-sizing-worksheet.md | Sizing worksheet |
| financial-modeling-calculator.md | Runway + scenarios + unit economics |
Data
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
| sources.json | Curated validation resources |
FAQ
What does the startup-idea-validation skill do?
Use when validating a startup idea before building. Produces evidence-based GO/NO-GO decisions using a 9-dimension scorecard (problem, market, timing, moat, unit economics, founder-market fit, feasibility, GTM, risk), a validation ladder (interviews - smoke test - concierge/WoZ - paid pilot), and riskiest-assumption-first experiments.
How do I install startup-idea-validation?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/vasilyu1983/ai-agents-public --skill startup-idea-validation in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/startup-idea-validation/ (personal) or .claude/skills/startup-idea-validation/ (project).
Which AI agents can use startup-idea-validation?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is startup-idea-validation safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains startup-idea-validation?
It is published by vasilyu1983 in vasilyu1983/ai-agents-public. It has 202 recorded installs.
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