Business Idea Validator
Test your assumptions before you build anything.
Most business ideas fail because the founder never stress-tested the core assumptions. This workflow walks you through an honest evaluation of your idea's market, model, and motivation — before you invest months building something.
The Workflow
Articulate the idea precisely
You should be able to describe your business in three sentences: what it is, who it's for, and why someone would pay for it instead of the alternatives.
Help me articulate and pressure-test my business idea. My rough idea: [ROUGH_IDEA] Who I think the customer is: [TARGET_CUSTOMER] The problem they have: [PROBLEM] How I'd solve it: [SOLUTION] How I'd make money: [REVENUE_MODEL] Why now / why me: [WHY_NOW_WHY_ME] Please: 1. Rewrite my idea as a crisp three-sentence description (what, who, why they pay) 2. Identify the biggest assumption I haven't stated that my idea depends on 3. List the top three competitors or alternatives my customer already uses 4. Ask me the five most important questions before I go further
Replace: [ROUGH_IDEA], [TARGET_CUSTOMER], [PROBLEM], [SOLUTION], [REVENUE_MODEL], [WHY_NOW_WHY_ME]
Run the full validation
Get a structured assessment of the idea across four dimensions: market, model, competition, and founder fit.
Validate my business idea across four dimensions. Be honest — I'd rather know the problems now. Business: [BUSINESS_DESCRIPTION] Target customer: [TARGET_CUSTOMER] Revenue model: [REVENUE_MODEL] Competitive alternatives: [COMPETITORS] My background and relevant skills: [MY_BACKGROUND] Time and capital I can invest: [RESOURCES] Assess: 1. MARKET: Is there a real, reachable market for this? How do I know demand exists beyond my own enthusiasm? 2. MODEL: Can this business make money at a scale I'd find worthwhile? What does the unit economics look like? 3. COMPETITION: Is the competitive landscape something I can navigate, or is this space already saturated with well-funded players? 4. FOUNDER FIT: Am I the right person to build this? What would disqualify me? End with: one overall verdict and the single most important thing I should do in the next two weeks to validate or kill this idea.
Replace: [BUSINESS_DESCRIPTION], [TARGET_CUSTOMER], [REVENUE_MODEL], [COMPETITORS], [MY_BACKGROUND], [RESOURCES]
All Prompts for This Workflow
Validate my business idea. Be honest about the problems. Business: [BUSINESS_DESCRIPTION] Target customer: [TARGET_CUSTOMER] Revenue model: [REVENUE_MODEL] Competition: [COMPETITORS] My background: [MY_BACKGROUND] Resources available: [RESOURCES] Assess: market size and reachability, unit economics and model viability, competitive landscape, and founder fit. End with one verdict and the most important next step to validate or kill the idea.
Replace: [BUSINESS_DESCRIPTION], [TARGET_CUSTOMER], [REVENUE_MODEL], [COMPETITORS], [MY_BACKGROUND], [RESOURCES]
Design the smallest possible test of my business idea. My idea: [BUSINESS_IDEA] Core assumption to test: [CORE_ASSUMPTION] Time I have: [AVAILABLE_TIME] Money I'm willing to spend on a test: $[TEST_BUDGET] My existing audience or channels: [EXISTING_CHANNELS] Design a test that: 1. Can be completed in [AVAILABLE_TIME] 2. Produces a clear signal (not just vague interest) 3. Does not require me to build the full product first 4. Has a specific success metric I'll know I've hit Tell me: what does a "go" signal look like vs. a "pivot or stop" signal?
Replace: [BUSINESS_IDEA], [CORE_ASSUMPTION], [AVAILABLE_TIME], [TEST_BUDGET], [EXISTING_CHANNELS]
Help me estimate the market size for my business. Business: [BUSINESS_DESCRIPTION] Target customer profile: [CUSTOMER_PROFILE] Geographic market: [GEOGRAPHY] How customers find solutions today: [CURRENT_SOLUTIONS] Walk me through a bottom-up market size estimate: 1. How many total potential customers fit my profile? 2. What percentage could I realistically reach with my current resources? 3. What's my expected revenue per customer per year? 4. What does 1% market penetration look like in revenue? Show your reasoning at each step. Note where your estimates might be off and by how much.
Replace: [BUSINESS_DESCRIPTION], [CUSTOMER_PROFILE], [GEOGRAPHY], [CURRENT_SOLUTIONS]
A four-dimension assessment (market, model, competition, founder fit), identification of your most dangerous unvalidated assumption, and a specific minimum viable test you can run in the next two weeks.
- →The most valuable part of validation is talking to potential customers before you ask AI anything. Come back with real quotes and let AI help you interpret them.
- →Ask AI: 'Steelman the case against my idea.' You'll learn more from the best counterargument than from validation.