IdeaBrowser Platform Help
IdeaBrowser (ideabrowser.com — by Greg Isenberg, launched May 2025) is the paid
market-leader startup-idea discovery catalog: it ingests Reddit threads, search-trend data, and
YouTube signals and produces fully-formed, pre-researched startup ideas, each carrying an
opportunity score and a breakdown (problem severity, feasibility, timing, search volume, growth %,
founder fit, revenue potential, execution difficulty, go-to-market). It's the original that the free
VentureVault and cheaper Ideagrape / BuildOrNot clone. Beyond browsing, its AI agents
(Idea Agent / AI Chat, Research Agent, Chat Strategist) research and pressure-test ideas —
including your own. It's an idea-discovery tool, not proof of demand, it's expensive
(~$499–$2,999/yr), and it has no public API (a UI app; Pro data exports + a third-party Apify
scraper are the only export paths).
Step 1 — Gather context
If references/learnings.md exists, read it first for accumulated platform knowledge.
Ask only what you can't infer:
- What do you want from IdeaBrowser?
- A) Browse the catalog / Idea of the Day to find a niche worth building
- B) Interpret an idea's opportunity score and its market breakdown
- C) Run the Research Agent / Chat Strategist on your own idea
- D) Decide whether the price is worth it vs free/cheaper alternatives
- E) Get the ideas out / automate them (export / API reality)
- F) Judge whether a browsed, scored idea = validated demand
- What's the real question — "what should I build / is this idea worth building?" or "how do I use
this tool?" If it's the go/no-go decision, that's
/sales-idea-validation (browsing a curated idea
list and reading an AI score are not demand) — route in Step 2.
Skip-ahead: if the user wants the validate-before-building method or to compare validators across the
market, that's a /sales-idea-validation question — route immediately.
Step 2 — Route or answer directly
| If the user's question is about… | Route to |
|---|
| The validate-before-building method, or the go/no-go decision itself | /sales-idea-validation {question} |
| Comparing IdeaBrowser against other validators/discovery tools (VentureVault, Ideagrape, BuildOrNot, Validator AI…) | /sales-idea-validation {question} |
| The free IdeaBrowser alternative specifically | /sales-venturevault {question} |
| The cheaper discovery+validation hybrid alternative | /sales-ideagrape {question} |
| Deep Reddit demand-signal discovery / scoring as its own workflow | /sales-trendseeker {question} |
| Building the smoke-test / fake-door landing page to test real demand | /sales-funnel {question} |
| Growing a pre-launch waitlist / capturing real demand | /sales-audience-growth {question} |
When routing, give the exact command: "This is a {domain} question — run: /sales-idea-validation {original question}"
Otherwise, answer IdeaBrowser-specific questions using Step 3.
Step 3 — IdeaBrowser platform reference
Read references/platform-guide.md for the full reference — the modules (Idea of the Day, the Idea
Database, Ideas Leaderboard, Trends, AI Idea Generator, Idea Agent / AI Chat, the 40-step Research
Agent, Chat Strategist, Idea Builder), the opportunity-score components, the annual pricing tiers
(free → Starter ~$499 → Pro ~$1,499 → Empire ~$2,999) and what each gates, the no-public-API
automation reality (Pro data exports + the third-party Apify scraper as the only export paths; no
webhooks/Zapier/MCP), and the disambiguation from its clones.
Answer using only the relevant section — don't dump the full reference.
Step 4 — Actionable guidance
- Use IdeaBrowser for discovery, not for the decision. Its value is a curated, pre-researched
shortlist — browse the catalog / Idea of the Day to find candidate niches and see what a scored idea
looks like, then take the go/no-go from a real demand test (smoke test / pre-sale), not from the
score. Route the real test to
/sales-idea-validation.
- Treat the opportunity scores and market breakdown as AI estimates, not facts. The score
components (revenue potential, execution difficulty, GTM, search volume, growth %) are AI-generated
and unaudited — read them as a directional lens and verify any market-size or revenue number
against a primary source. A high opportunity score is not demand; a browsable idea has been
researched, not validated by a paying stranger.
- The Research Agent report is a deeper AI opinion — keep the structure, discard the verdict. The
40-step Research Agent (and Chat Strategist) produce a thorough report on your own idea, but
reviewers note it doesn't link claims to data sources — it's a well-organized LLM synthesis. Keep
the competitor list, risks, positioning, and GTM ammo to sharpen the pitch; earn the go/no-go from
real behavior.
- Weigh the price honestly against free/cheaper alternatives. IdeaBrowser is by far the priciest
in the cluster (~$499/$1,499/$2,999 per year, billed annually). If the user only needs a shortlist,
the free VentureVault or cheaper Ideagrape cover the browse-and-score job — reserve IdeaBrowser
for its deeper agents/data if they'll actually use them. A common take: it "earns its cost while you're
still hunting for an idea; once you have one, cheaper tools get you to proof for less."
- There's no public API — don't plan an integration around it. No documented REST/GraphQL API, no
webhooks, no Zapier/Make, no MCP. The only export paths are Pro-tier data exports and a third-party
Apify scraper (
marielise.dev/ideabrowser-scraper, not official) — treat the scraper as unsupported
(it can break and may conflict with the terms). If they need the ideas elsewhere, point them at the
Pro data export (if they subscribe) or reconstructing the underlying signals from source (the
Reddit API, a keyword/search-volume tool, Google Trends, YouTube, Product Hunt). The thing worth
automating is a real demand signal (landing-page conversions), not a directory of AI-scored ideas.
- Get the free vs paid split right. The Idea of the Day (browse today's idea + the daily email)
is free and the best zero-cost way to sample the product; the (Starter unlocks the catalog + a
monthly AI-idea quota; Pro adds Research Agent reports + exports). Confirm current gating at
ideabrowser.com/pricing.
If you discover a gotcha or tip not in references/learnings.md, append it there with today's date.
Gotchas
Best-effort from research (2026-07) — IdeaBrowser ships features fast (a "launch week" cadence) and the
live site rate-limited automated fetches; verify current tiers, quotas, and module names at
ideabrowser.com.
- A browsed, scored idea is not validated demand. The catalog gives you a researched idea with an
AI opportunity score — not proof anyone will pay. Follow it with a real-behavior test (smoke test /
pre-sale); the go/no-go is a stranger taking an action.
- Opportunity scores and market numbers are AI estimates. Revenue potential, execution difficulty,
search volume, growth %, and market size are model/data-generated, not audited — verify any number
against a primary source.
- The Research Agent doesn't cite sources. Its 40-step report reads authoritative but reviewers fault
it for not linking claims to data — treat it as structured AI synthesis, keep the useful parts, and
don't mistake the write-up for evidence.
- It's expensive and billed annually. ~$499 (Starter) / ~$1,499 (Pro) / ~$2,999 (Empire) per year —
the priciest tool in the cluster. The free VentureVault and cheaper Ideagrape cover the browse-and-
score job; pay for IdeaBrowser only for its deeper agents/data.
- No public API, no webhooks, no Zapier/Make/MCP. UI web app. Export is limited to Pro data exports
and an unofficial third-party Apify scraper — you can't build a supported integration on it.
- It's Greg Isenberg's product with a big audience — don't confuse hype with demand. Positive Product
Hunt buzz and a large following are marketing signals, not proof your pick will sell.
Related skills
/sales-idea-validation — The tool-agnostic validate-before-building method + the full validator/discovery landscape (use this to actually decide build-or-not; browsing a scored idea list is not demand)/sales-venturevault — VentureVault platform help (the free IdeaBrowser alternative — a browsable vault of AI-scored, pre-researched ideas at no cost)/sales-ideagrape — Ideagrape platform help (a cheaper IdeaBrowser alternative blending idea discovery with AI validation, with a capped free tier)/sales-buildornot — BuildOrNot platform help (a discovery data platform + free AI evaluator — a paid-preview discovery sibling)/sales-trendseeker — Reddit-based demand discovery + evidence scoring (a real-signal sibling to a curated idea catalog)/sales-funnel — Build the smoke-test / fake-door landing page the real demand test runs on/sales-audience-growth — Grow a pre-launch waitlist and capture real demand/sales-do — Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill. Install: npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-do -a claude-code
Examples
Example 1: "IdeaBrowser gave an idea a high opportunity score — should I build it?"
User says: "The Idea of the Day scored really high on IdeaBrowser. Is that a green light to build?"
Skill does: Positions IdeaBrowser as a discovery tool — the opportunity score (revenue
potential, execution difficulty, GTM, search volume, growth) is an AI estimate to sanity-check, not
proof of demand — and tells the user to verify any market number against a primary source. Insists the
go/no-go comes from a real behavior test (smoke test / pre-sale), routing the decision to
/sales-idea-validation, the landing page to /sales-funnel, and the waitlist to
/sales-audience-growth.
Result: The founder treats the score as a shortlist signal and earns the decision from stranger behavior.
Example 2: "Is IdeaBrowser worth $499+/yr, or should I use a free/cheaper tool?"
User says: "IdeaBrowser is expensive. Do I need it, or is VentureVault / Ideagrape enough?"
Skill does: Frames IdeaBrowser as the priciest tool in the cluster (~$499/$1,499/$2,999/yr,
annual) and separates the jobs: if the user only needs a shortlist, the free VentureVault or
cheaper Ideagrape cover browse-and-score; IdeaBrowser earns its cost only if they'll use the deeper
Research Agent / Chat Strategist / data. Notes the common take — "worth it while hunting for an idea,
overkill once you have one" — and routes cross-tool comparison to /sales-idea-validation.
Result: The user picks the cheapest tool that does the job they actually need, not the flashiest.
Example 3: Can I export IdeaBrowser's ideas via an API? (developer/automation)
User says: "I want to pull IdeaBrowser's scored ideas into my own database via API."
Skill does: States plainly there's no documented public API, no webhooks, no Zapier/Make, no MCP
— it's a UI web app, and the only export paths are Pro-tier data exports and an unofficial
third-party Apify scraper (marielise.dev/ideabrowser-scraper), which is unsupported and may break or
conflict with terms. Suggests the workable path: use Pro exports if you're a subscriber, or reconstruct
the underlying signals from source (Reddit API, search-trend/keyword tools, YouTube), and automate a
real demand signal (landing-page analytics) instead of a directory.
Result: The user avoids building on a non-existent API and picks a supported/first-party path.
Troubleshooting
Every idea looks promising / the scores feel optimistic
Symptom: The catalog's opportunity scores make most ideas look like winners.
Cause: The scores and market breakdown are AI/data estimates, not audited — they read
directional and can skew encouraging.
Solution: Use the scores to rank and shortlist, not to decide. Verify any market/revenue number
against a primary source, then run a real demand test (smoke test / pre-sale) via /sales-idea-validation.
The Research Agent report looks thorough but I can't verify its claims
Symptom: A long, confident Research Agent write-up with no linked sources.
Cause: The 40-step Research Agent synthesizes a report but doesn't cite data sources — it's
structured LLM output, not evidence.
Solution: Keep the structured parts (competitors, risks, positioning, GTM), verify any specific stat
independently, and take the go/no-go from real behavior, not the report's tone.
I want an API or a way to export/automate the ideas
Symptom: Want to script IdeaBrowser or pull its scored ideas into another system.
Cause: IdeaBrowser has no documented public API, webhooks, or iPaaS connectors; export is limited to
Pro-tier data exports and an unofficial third-party Apify scraper.
Solution: Use Pro data exports if you subscribe, or reconstruct the signals from source (Reddit API,
search-trend/keyword tools, YouTube). Don't build on the Apify scraper as if it were official. Automate a
real demand signal (landing-page analytics) instead. See /sales-idea-validation.
