fa-product-validation

name	fa-product-validation
description	Provides Stage 4 validation guidance for consumer one-off / in-app-purchase products - framing falsifiable money hypotheses under a cost ceiling, IP/trademark/name/domain clearance, problem and solution interviews that probe real past spend, concept tests with a clickable paywall, deflated willingness-to-pay (Van Westendorp, conjoint/MaxDiff), fake-door and painted-price tests, landing-page commitment ladders, ad-creative CPI testing that replaces the placeholder CAC, and community pre-validation. Use to get a go/no-go with at least one money-on-the-line signal before building.
license	MIT

Gaia Product Validation

Scope and when to use

Use this skill to put money on the line before committing to a build. Scope is one-off + IAP/IAG monetization; B2B seat-based SaaS is out of scope and an auto-renew model is red-lined unless an in-scope decision is recorded.

Use when:

• a designed money model needs falsification before any slice is built
• willingness-to-pay must be confirmed by behavior, not by stated intent
• the placeholder CAC must be replaced by a measured CPI

Do not use when:

• the money model is not designed yet (run monetization design first)
• a paid signal already passed and the slice can start

Required inputs

• the designed money model, price ladder, and falsifiable hypotheses
• the current unit-economics model version and its placeholder CAC
• a stage cost ceiling and access to test channels

Owned outputs

• a documented go/no-go with at least one money-on-the-line signal
• deflated WTP, fake-door/painted-price results, and a measured CPI
• the re-run net LTV:CAC + payback gate on real CPI

Core workflow

1. Frame falsifiable MONEY hypotheses and set a stage cost ceiling before spending.
2. Clear IP / trademark / name / domain before investing in the identity.
3. Run problem and solution interviews (12-20 persona-matched) that probe REAL past spend; treat "I'd download" as not equal to "I'd pay".
4. Run concept tests with a clickable prototype that INCLUDES the paywall/IAP screen.
5. Research WTP (Van Westendorp n>=100-200; conjoint/MaxDiff for bundles) then DEFLATE it with a quantified haircut.
6. Run fake-door / painted-price tests and measure buy-taps against a pre-registered threshold.
7. Build a landing page with a commitment ladder (email -> pre-order -> deposit).
8. Run ad-creative CPI testing that REPLACES the placeholder CAC, then RE-RUN the net LTV:CAC + payback gate.
9. Pre-validate with community (Discord/subreddit, founder pack) and document the go/no-go.

Money-on-the-line evidence

• A stated WTP number is a hypothesis; a buy-tap or deposit is evidence.
• Always deflate survey/conjoint WTP before it touches a build decision.
• The measured CPI, not the placeholder, decides the net LTV:CAC at this gate.

Anti-patterns

• do not accept "I'd download it" as a willingness-to-pay signal
• do not feed un-deflated stated WTP into the model
• do not skip the paywall screen in the concept test
• do not exceed the stage cost ceiling chasing certainty
• do not pass the gate without re-running it on measured CPI

Handoff and downstream impact

• hand the vertical slice the validated money model and confirmed price points
• hand the money gate the deflated WTP, paid signal, and measured CPI
• name the loop-back: failed WTP returns to ideation or monetization design

Completion checklist

• at least one money-on-the-line signal is documented
• WTP is deflated and IP/name/domain are cleared
• fake-door buy-taps were measured against a pre-registered threshold
• the net LTV:CAC + payback gate was re-run on measured CPI

References

• Unit economics model
• Money gate
• Product process
• Product discovery team architecture