Research
Validate an idea
A read on demand, competition and the reason it might not work.
Fill it in
What it is and who it is for.
Open on what would kill it, not on the opportunity.
Your prompt
Research this idea and tell me whether it holds. [the idea] Open with what would kill it. The failure mode of a validation report is that it reads as an argument FOR the idea, because that is what the person asking wants, and it therefore gets believed and acted on. Lead with the risk that is hardest to answer. Look for demand signals that cost someone something: people paying for a worse version, hiring for the problem, or building it internally. Search volume and survey interest are cheap and mean almost nothing. Find the existing competitors, including the boring ones. "No direct competitors" almost always means the job is currently done by a spreadsheet, and the spreadsheet is free and already installed. End with what you would test first, and what result would change your mind.
Use Validate an ideaOpens with everything above already filled in.
Why this works
Validation reports usually read as arguments for the idea, because that is what the person asking wants, so they get believed and acted on. This leads with the risk that is hardest to answer and looks for demand signals that cost someone something rather than survey interest.
Questions
- What if there are no competitors?
- It will say what actually does the job today, which is usually a spreadsheet, and note that the spreadsheet is free.