validate-idea
Skill0 starsChanged 10 months agoMITView on GitHub
Use when starting a new business idea, product concept, or side project and need to validate assumptions, identify gaps, or stress-test the idea before building
23 other projects use a version of this.
Adopted by
Most recently taken up by
- insight68/Skillstheir own version, first seen Nov 8, 2026
- lalulali/vespyrtheir own version, first seen Nov 6, 2026
- sanskarprajapati/validator-skilltheir own version, first seen Nov 1, 2026
- alexjmiller5/agent-config-publictheir own version, first seen Oct 15, 2026
- scaccogatto/minimalist-entrepreneurtheir own version, first seen Oct 15, 2026
- menkesu/awesome-pm-skillstheir own version, first seen Oct 13, 2026
Used with
Projects with it also use company-values, find-community and 8 more.
Other files people use alongside this one.
Files found in the same public projects as a version of this one, more often than they turn up anywhere else. Each project counts once, large collections count for less, and this file's own repository is left out.
insight68Skillcompany-values
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find-community
Help identify and evaluate communities to build a minimalist business around. Use when someone is looking for a business idea, trying to find their community, or wondering where to start as an entrepreneur.
Also in 6 projects that use this
slavingiaSkillgrow-sustainably
Evaluate business decisions through the lens of sustainable, profitable growth. Use when someone is making decisions about spending, hiring, fundraising, or scaling their business.
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- slavingiaSkill
processize
Turn a product idea into a manual-first process you can start delivering today. Use when you have an idea and want to figure out how to deliver value by hand before writing any code.
Also in 6 projects that use this
MicrosoftSkilllaunch
Launch and automate VS Code Insiders with the Copilot Chat extension using @playwright/cli via Chrome DevTools Protocol. Use when you need to interact with the VS Code UI, automate the chat panel, test the extension UI, or take screenshots. Triggers include 'automate VS Code', 'interact with chat', 'test the UI', 'take a screenshot', 'launch with debugging'.
Also in 3 projects that use this
- +4 more from insight68
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Other versions23 projects use a version of this.
Word for word · 0
None found.
Edited · 0
None found.
Wrote their own version · 23
- slavingia/skills★ 11ksame name
- emotixco/claude-skills-founder★ 796same name
- me2resh/apexyard★ 542same name
- menkesu/awesome-pm-skills★ 441same name
- sendaifun/solana-new★ 178same name
- konglong87/superPM★ 84same name
- keeea/minimalist-entrepreneur-skills★ 19same name
- ariadoss/superskills★ 12same name
- lalulali/vespyr★ 11same name
- Latifox/find-me-saas★ 10same name
13 more not listed
How matches are found. Word for word: the exact same text. Edited: shares passages with this file (“99% same” means 99% of its five-word phrases also appear here; 10% or more counts). Their own version: similar meaning, or, weakest, the same name. We can’t tell which project had it first. Projects are counted among the 200 most-starred candidates, and mentions are links to the repository we found, up to 50 per site, so both counts are a floor.
In this repositoryOne other file it gives its agents.
- marketing-strategySkill
The file
We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent
9 rules. 0 are common, 8 are distinctive, and 1 is very specific to this project.
0
Common
Most of the 20 edited versions we read keep these.
8
Distinctive
This author's own choices. Worth a look.
1
Very specific
Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.
- Common
- Distinctive
- Very specific
- Very specific: line 16
All output saved to docs/ideas/ with version tracking.
- Distinctive: line 35
Ask for idea name (one sentence)
- Distinctive: line 36
Ask: "Dump everything you have about this idea - problem, solution, market, anything"
- Distinctive: line 39
Ask: "Want to fill gaps now, or save and continue later?"
- Distinctive: line 44
Ask questions one at a time within each section
- Distinctive: line 45
Use multiple choice where reasonable
- Distinctive: line 47
After each section: brief summary, confirm before moving on
- Distinctive: line 53
Ask: Resume gaps / Review all / Start fresh
- Distinctive: line 221
One question at a time: - Don't overwhelm
“Common” is measured: kept by at least 6 in 10 of the 20 edited versions of this file we could read. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.
Files
Idea Validation
Overview
Guide users through structured validation of business ideas using a 12-section framework. Capture what's known, identify gaps, and build a complete picture before building.
Two modes:
- Quick capture: User dumps what they know, you parse into sections
- Interactive: Walk through gaps one question at a time
All output saved to docs/ideas/ with version tracking.
When to Use
- Starting a new idea from scratch
- Have a rough concept, want to pressure-test it
- Revisiting an idea after learning more
- Preparing to pitch (ensures thoroughness)
When NOT to Use
- Already validated and building
- Pure technical projects with no business model
- Quick experiments that don't need formal validation
Workflow
Starting Fresh
- Ask for idea name (one sentence)
- Ask: "Dump everything you have about this idea - problem, solution, market, anything"
- Parse their input into the 12 sections below
- Show what was captured vs what's unknown (TBD)
- Ask: "Want to fill gaps now, or save and continue later?"
Filling Gaps
- Work through one section at a time (1 -> 12)
- Ask questions one at a time within each section
- Use multiple choice where reasonable
- "I don't know yet" is valid - mark as TBD
- After each section: brief summary, confirm before moving on
Resuming Existing
- Load file, parse YAML frontmatter
- Show: "X% complete, Y gaps remaining"
- Ask: Resume gaps / Review all / Start fresh
- Resume -> jump to first incomplete section
Output Format
Save to docs/ideas/YYYY-MM-DD-idea-name.md (increment version for updates):
---
idea: "One-sentence description"
created: YYYY-MM-DD
updated: YYYY-MM-DD
version: 1
completion: 65%
gaps:
- "Market size not researched"
- "Pricing undefined"
---
# Idea Validation: [Name]
## 1. Problem & Value
| Question | Answer |
|----------|--------|
| Specific problem | ... |
| Who has it | ... |
| Why painful | **TBD** |
| Why now | ... |
| Clear outcome | ... |
[Sections 2-12 follow same pattern]
---
## Gaps Summary
- [ ] Section 1: Why painful?
- [ ] Section 5: Pricing
## Version History
- v1 (date): Initial capture
- v2 (date): Added market researchThe 12 Sections
1. Problem & Value
| Question | Guidance |
| What is the specific problem? | Strong: Concrete, narrow, observable. Weak: Vague, broad. Red flag: Only you have this problem. |
| Who has this problem? | Strong: Specific persona with numbers. Weak: "Everyone" / "Small businesses". Follow-up: Can you name 3 people? |
| Why is it painful or costly? | Quantify if possible. Time lost, money lost, frustration level. |
| Why does this problem matter now? | Strong: Market shift, new tech, regulation. Weak: "Always been a problem". Red flag: No urgency. |
| What is the clear outcome? | What does success look like for the user? Be specific. |
2. Solution
| Question | Guidance |
| What exactly are you offering? | Describe the product/service concretely. |
| How does it solve the problem? | Direct cause -> effect. Not features, but outcomes. |
| What is the one core benefit? | Force prioritization. If you had to pick ONE thing. |
| How is it different from existing solutions? | Be honest. "Faster" isn't enough - how much faster? |
| What does it NOT try to solve? | Scope clarity. What's explicitly out of bounds? |
3. Market
| Question | Guidance |
| How big is the problem? | Number of people affected, frequency, severity. |
| Market size (TAM/SAM/SOM)? | Even rough estimates help. Red flag: "Trillion dollar market" with no breakdown. |
| Who is the initial target user? | Narrow is good. First 100 customers, not first million. |
| Who is explicitly NOT the target? | Helps focus. "Not enterprise", "Not consumers". |
| Buyer ≠ user? | If yes, who pays? This changes everything about sales. |
4. Competition
| Question | Guidance |
| Direct competitors? | Who solves the same problem the same way? |
| Indirect/substitute solutions? | What else do people use? Including "do nothing". |
| How do people solve this today? | Current behavior, even if inefficient. |
| Why would they switch? | Switching has costs. What overcomes inertia? |
| What is your unfair advantage? | Be honest. "None yet" is valid. Network effects, proprietary data, expertise? |
5. Business Model
| Question | Guidance |
| How do you make money? | Subscription, one-time, ads, transaction fee? |
| Pricing logic makes sense? | Based on value delivered, competitor pricing, or cost-plus? |
| Will people realistically pay? | Have you asked? Red flag: "They should want to pay". |
| Main cost drivers? | What scales with users? What's fixed? |
| Can this scale? | Unit economics at 10x, 100x current size? |
6. Communication & Usability
| Question | Guidance |
| Can a 15-year-old understand it? | Test: Explain in one sentence without jargon. |
| Can a 65-year-old understand it? | Not about age - about assumptions and context. |
| No jargon required? | Industry terms = barrier to entry. |
| Time to first value is short? | How long until user gets benefit? Minutes, hours, days? |
| Anyone can start without help? | Self-serve or requires onboarding? |
7. Industry & Positioning
| Question | Guidance |
| What industry are you in? | Simple category. Fintech, healthtech, productivity, etc. |
| One-sentence company description? | "We help [who] do [what] by [how]". |
| What category do you want to own? | Be specific. "Project management" is crowded. "Project management for construction crews" is ownable. |
| What should people associate with your brand? | Pick 2-3 words. Fast? Reliable? Friendly? Premium? |
8. Brand & Purpose
| Question | Guidance |
| Why does this exist? | Beyond making money. What drives you? |
| What belief or principle drives it? | Core conviction about how things should be. |
| Why should anyone care? | From their perspective, not yours. |
| Is the story easy to remember? | Can someone retell it accurately? |
9. Defensibility & Risk
| Question | Guidance |
| Is it patentable? | Usually no, and that's fine. But know the answer. |
| If not, what protects you? | Brand, network effects, switching costs, speed, relationships? |
| What is easy to copy? | Be honest. Features are easy. Distribution is hard. |
| What gets stronger over time? | Data moats, community, brand recognition? |
| Biggest risks identified? | Technical, market, team, regulatory? Name them. |
10. Execution & Roadmap
| Question | Guidance |
| Smallest useful version (MVP)? | What's the minimum to test the core hypothesis? |
| What will be built first? | Prioritization clarity. |
| What is intentionally delayed? | Shows discipline. Red flag: Everything is v1. |
| Basic measurement in place? | How will you know it's working? |
| Clear next milestone? | Specific, time-bound, measurable. |
11. Reality Check
| Question | Guidance |
| What must be true for this to work? | List assumptions. Then validate them. |
| What would make you stop? | Kill criteria. Know when to quit. |
| What assumption is most dangerous? | If wrong, everything falls apart. Test this first. |
| Why you / this team? | Honest assessment of fit. |
| Why now? | Timing matters. What changed recently? |
12. Pitch Readiness
| Question | Guidance |
| Problem in one sentence? | Elevator test. |
| Solution in one sentence? | No jargon. |
| Why you win? | Differentiation + credibility. |
| Why now? | Urgency and timing. |
| Clear vision for the future? | Where does this go in 5 years? |
Key Principles
- One question at a time - Don't overwhelm
- TBD is valid - Unknown gaps are valuable to surface
- Quantify when possible - Numbers beat adjectives
- Be honest - Weak answers now prevent failed launches later
- Iterate - Ideas evolve, revisit and update
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