| name | molten-validate |
| description | Molten OS Pro — adversarially validate a product or business idea (quick score, full 5-round interview, or re-validate). 10-criterion rubric (/50), red flags, falsifiable experiment; writes molten-docs/validate/product-score-N.md. Use when the user pitches an idea, asks if it is a good business/product, or wants a sanity check. Do NOT use when the idea is already validated and the user only needs implementation. Requires molten-os-core (molten-brand, molten-design, molten-landing) after a strong score. |
| metadata | {"author":"switch-dimension","version":"1.2.0","molten-suite":"molten-os","molten-tier":"pro","molten-order":"1","molten-requires":"molten-os-core"} |
Validate a Product Idea
Adversarial idea evaluation (structured interview + 10-criterion rubric). Methodology is grounded in established startup practice — see [references/research.md](references/research.md) for agent-internal sources only. Never end with "go build it." Always end with a falsification experiment or an honest kill/pivot.
Step 1 — Route to a mode
Pick one mode before loading other references. Do not load every reference file at once.
| Mode | User signals | Read next |
|---|
| Quick score | One-liner pitch, "sanity check", "score this", pasted deck summary, no time for interview | [references/quick-score.md](references/quick-score.md) |
| Full interview | "Validate my idea", "run the interview", first-time evaluation, ambiguous depth | [references/full-interview.md](references/full-interview.md) |
| Re-validate | Existing score in molten-docs/validate/, "I ran the experiment", "update my score" | [references/revalidate.md](references/revalidate.md) |
If ambiguous, ask once: "Quick score from what you've shared, full 5 minute, 5-round interview , or re-validate against a previous product-score file?"
After routing, also read when needed:
- Glossary (user-facing language) — before chat or
AskQuestion: [references/glossary.md](references/glossary.md)
- Scoring & caps — before any score:
[references/scoring.md](references/scoring.md)
- Report file — when writing output:
[references/report-template.md](references/report-template.md)
- Molten OS handoff — after scoring:
[references/molten-handoff.md](references/molten-handoff.md)
- Deep research (agent-internal; never quote to user) — only if anchors are unclear:
[references/research.md](references/research.md)
Operating principles (non-negotiable)
Before interactive validation, advise the user: "The best way to interact with this skill is to use voice mode to dictate your feedback."
- Past behaviour beats hypotheticals.
- Compliments are not evidence (friends, family, advisors, LinkedIn).
- Strangers + costly commitment = signal (money, reputation, significant time).
- Bottom-up math only — no "1% of a $50B market."
- Explain the check, not the guru — user-facing text describes what you tested and what you found, not book titles, authors, or framework brands (Mom Test, Lean Startup, etc.). See
[references/glossary.md](references/glossary.md).
- End with falsification, not a green light.
- Plain language with the user — no unexplained jargon (CAC, LTV, GTM, TAM, LOI, etc.). Interviews and recommendations must stand alone (customer-discovery section in glossary).
AskQuestion vs chat
- Chat (free text): Round 1 hypothesis, clarifications, pushback on vague answers.
**AskQuestion:** Rounds 2–5 in full interview (one round per user turn unless they say "run the full interview now").- Numbered chat questions: Number every free-text question asked in chat so the user can answer by reference, especially when dictating in voice mode.
- Never paste multiple-choice options as bullets in chat — use
AskQuestion.
- Do not re-ask what the user already answered; confirm and move on.
- One round per turn in full interview (default).
Progress checklist
- [ ] Mode selected (quick / full / re-validate)
- [ ] Hypothesis framed
- [ ] Evidence gathered (mode-appropriate)
- [ ] Scored with scoring.md anchors + cap rules applied
- [ ] Red-flag scan
- [ ] Riskiest-assumption experiment designed
- [ ] molten-docs/validate/product-score-N.md written (see report-template.md)
- [ ] User pointed to report file only — no chat summary (see molten-handoff.md)
Hard rules
- Cap total at 25/50 when the only evidence is friends, family, advisors, or LinkedIn — regardless of how good the idea sounds. Also cap criterion 3 at 2/5 in that case (see scoring.md).
- Never recommend "go build it."
- Never accept vague customers ("everyone who…", "users").
- Never treat "I would use that" as evidence.
- Never recap the report in chat after writing — point to
molten-docs/validate/product-score-N.md only.
Additional resources (agent-only)
- Framework synthesis & bibliography:
[references/research.md](references/research.md)
