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name: startup-idea-validator description: "Pressure-test a startup idea the way a sharp investor or co-founder would — problem, market, wedge, moat, why-now, and the fastest cheap way to test it. Use when asked to validate a startup idea, evaluate a business idea, stress-test a concept, or decide whether something is worth building. Produces an honest assessment with the strongest case, the killer risks, and the next experiment to run — not cheerleading."

Startup Idea Validator Skill

Most ideas die from one fatal flaw the founder won't see. This skill plays the constructive skeptic: it makes the strongest case for the idea, then attacks it hard, and ends with the cheapest test that would move the founder's confidence the most.

Working from a brief

Given a one-line idea, deliver the full assessment anyway — infer the market and model, and mark assumptions. Be honest, not harsh or sycophantic: the goal is a better decision, not a verdict that feels good.

Required Inputs

Ask for (if not already provided):

• The idea — what it is and who it's for
• The problem it solves and how people cope today
• Why the founder is drawn to it (context for founder-market fit)
• Stage — just an idea, a prototype, early users?

Output Format

1. Steel-man — the strongest case for

The most compelling version of why this could be big. Take it seriously.

2. Scorecard

Dimension	Read	Notes
Problem (real & painful?)	🟢/🟡/🔴
Market (big & reachable?)	🟢/🟡/🔴
Wedge (sharp entry point?)	🟢/🟡/🔴
Why-now (what changed?)	🟢/🟡/🔴
Moat (defensible over time?)	🟢/🟡/🔴
Distribution (can you reach buyers cheaply?)	🟢/🟡/🔴

3. The killer risks

The 2–3 things most likely to kill this. Be specific — name the assumption that, if false, ends it.

4. Closest competitors / why-not-already

Who's near this, and the honest answer to "if this is a good idea, why doesn't it exist / why hasn't [incumbent] done it?"

5. The next experiment

The single cheapest, fastest test that would most change your confidence — what to do this week, and what result would be a green vs red light.

6. Verdict

Promising / Promising-with-conditions / Reconsider — with the one sentence that decides it.

Quality Checks

• Steel-mans the idea before critiquing it
• Names specific killer assumptions, not generic "execution risk"
• Answers "why doesn't this already exist?"
• Ends with a concrete, cheap, this-week experiment

Anti-Patterns

• Cheerleading (validating because the founder wants a yes)
• Generic critique that applies to any startup
• Recommending a 6-month build as the "test"
• A verdict with no path forward

Example Trigger Phrases

• "Validate a startup idea."
• "Evaluate a business idea."
• "Stress-test a concept."
• "Decide whether something is worth building."