Startup Idea Validator
Most MVPs fail before code — weak pain, no budget holder, or zero distribution. This 2-minute scorecard grades your idea the way we'd grade it on a discovery call.
Answer 8 questions honestly. You'll get a 0–100 score, your weakest dimension, and whether to build, narrow, or kill the idea.
How painful is the problem? (1 = nice-to-have, 5 = hair-on-fire)
3/5Would users pay to make it stop this quarter?
Is there a clear budget holder? (1 = no one, 5 = signed buyer)
3/5Who signs, and have they paid for adjacent tools?
How often does it occur? (1 = yearly, 5 = daily)
3/5Daily pains retain; yearly pains churn.
How badly do competitors solve it? (1 = perfectly, 5 = not at all)
3/5You need a wedge, not a feature war.
Can you reach 100 buyers cheaply? (1 = no idea, 5 = warm list)
3/5Distribution beats product at the start.
Willingness to pay? (1 = 'should be free', 5 = 'shut up and take my money')
3/53+ strangers asking = signal.
Can v1 be simple? (1 = 12-month platform, 5 = 4-week slice)
3/5If it needs a year, narrow the wedge.
Founder edge? (1 = tourist, 5 = lived the pain / own the network)
3/5Unfair insight wins crowded markets.
Your score
60
Narrow it
Fix "How painful is the problem? (1 = nice-to-have, 5 = hair-on-fire)" first — pick one user, one painful workflow, then re-score.
Weakest dimension: How painful is the problem? (1 = nice-to-have, 5 = hair-on-fire)
Validate with us — free callHow scoring works
Each dimension is 1–5: pain intensity, budget holder, frequency, competition gap, distribution, willingness to pay, build complexity (inverted), and founder edge. 70+ = build, 50–69 = narrow the wedge, under 50 = rethink before spending.
The question that matters most
“Have 5+ strangers asked for this or paid for something adjacent?” If no, stop and do 10 customer interviews first. Code can't fix a missing pull.
From score to scope
Scores of 50–69 usually mean the idea is too broad. Cut to one user, one painful workflow, one integration — that's your MVP slice. Book a call and we'll scope it free.
Frequently asked questions
How do I validate a startup idea before building?
Talk to 10+ target users, get 3+ to pre-pay or sign an LOI, and test willingness to pay with a landing page. This scorecard compresses that into 8 checks.
What is a good validation score?
70+/100 with no dimension under 2. A single 1 (e.g. no budget holder) can kill an otherwise great idea — fix the weakest link first.
Should I still build if my score is low?
Narrow, don't quit. Most low scores come from targeting too broadly. Pick one niche workflow where pain is acute and re-score.
Turn this estimate into a launch plan.
Free 30-min strategy call: we scope your build into fixed-price slices you can approve one by one.
Book free callBuilt by Timebase — MVP, SaaS & AI product studio