idea-validator

name	idea-validator
description	Structured validation framework that scores product ideas. Use when evaluating problem severity, willingness-to-pay, or founder-market fit. For market intelligence, see market-research.

Idea Validator Skill

When to Use

• After completing Phase 0 (Idea) before entering Phase 1 (Validation)
• When the user proposes a new idea or pivot
• When deciding between multiple product directions
• As a sanity check before committing resources

Tools Required

Tool	Purpose
firecrawl_search	Validate market signals, demand indicators
firecrawl_extract	Pull data from market reports, forums

Instructions

1. Collect Idea Inputs

Get from the user (or from completed Phase 0 deliverables):

• Problem statement: What pain does this solve?
• Target user: Who has this pain? (be specific: role, company size, industry)
• Proposed solution: How does this solve it? (one sentence)
• Revenue model: How does this make money?
• Differentiator: Why can't they just use {existing solution}?

2. Score on 5 Dimensions

Each dimension scored 1-5. Total score determines recommendation.

A. Problem Severity (1-5)

Score	Criteria
1	Nice-to-have. Users tolerate current solutions fine.
2	Mild annoyance. Users complain but don't switch.
3	Real pain. Users actively search for alternatives.
4	Hair-on-fire. Users lose money/time daily without a solution.
5	Mission-critical. Business cannot function without solving this.

Validate with:

firecrawl_search: "{problem_statement} pain point frustrated"
firecrawl_search: "site:reddit.com {target_user} struggling with {problem}"

B. Willingness to Pay (1-5)

Score	Criteria
1	Users expect free. No existing paid solutions.
2	Users pay reluctantly. < $10/mo willingness.
3	Established paid market. $10-50/mo common.
4	Users budget for this. $50-200/mo normal.
5	Enterprise budgets. $200+/mo, multi-seat deals.

Validate with:

firecrawl_search: "{category} pricing SaaS"
firecrawl_search: "{competitor} pricing plans"

C. Market Timing (1-5)

Score	Criteria
1	Market is saturated or declining.
2	Market exists but growth is flat.
3	Growing market with room for new entrants.
4	Emerging market with strong tailwinds (AI, regulation, etc.).
5	Category creation opportunity — no one owns this yet.

D. Founder-Market Fit (1-5)

Score	Criteria
1	No domain expertise, no network, no unfair advantage.
2	Some interest but learning from scratch.
3	Adjacent experience. Understand the user but not the domain deeply.
4	Direct experience. Have felt this pain personally.
5	Deep domain expertise + network + distribution advantage.

E. Execution Feasibility (1-5)

Score	Criteria
1	Requires team of 10+, $1M+, regulatory approval.
2	Needs specialized skills the founder lacks.
3	Achievable solo with AI tools in 3-6 months.
4	MVP shippable in 30-60 days with existing tools.
5	Can validate in a weekend with no-code or AI agents.

3. Generate Scorecard

# Idea Validation Scorecard: {Idea Name}

| Dimension | Score | Evidence |
|-----------|-------|----------|
| Problem Severity | X/5 | {one-line justification} |
| Willingness to Pay | X/5 | {one-line justification} |
| Market Timing | X/5 | {one-line justification} |
| Founder-Market Fit | X/5 | {one-line justification} |
| Execution Feasibility | X/5 | {one-line justification} |
| **TOTAL** | **XX/25** | |

## Recommendation
- 20-25: **STRONG GO** — Execute immediately.
- 15-19: **CONDITIONAL GO** — Proceed but validate {weakest dimension} first.
- 10-14: **PAUSE** — Significant risks. Pivot or de-risk before investing.
- 5-9:  **NO GO** — Fundamental problems. Explore different ideas.

4. Risk Flags

Regardless of score, flag these as deal-breakers:

• Problem Severity = 1 → "No one needs this"
• Willingness to Pay = 1 → "Can't monetize"
• Execution Feasibility = 1 → "Can't build it"

5. Output Format

Save to BRAINIAC/0. Idea/VALIDATION_SCORECARD.md

Quality Gates

• Every score must have evidence (search result, data point, or user testimony)
• WTP score must reference actual competitor pricing
• Total recommendation must match the scoring bands exactly