Idea eval

Idea Evaluation · 6-Dim Scoring

When to use

• Founder says "I have an idea for X"
• Multiple candidate ideas need ranking
• Already started but having second thoughts (cold-start sanity check)

6-dim scoring (1-5 each, max 30)

Dimension	5 pts	3 pts	1 pt
Pain urgency	Target users bleed/rage daily over this	Occasional inconvenience	Won't notice if absent
Willingness to pay	Already paying for an inferior alternative	Will pay but price-sensitive	Free-only
Deliverability	You + Claude Code ship MVP in 2-4 weeks	4-8 weeks + minor learning	Needs hardware / ML / regulatory approval
Differentiation	Unique angle / you have insider insight	Same as existing solutions	Red ocean and commoditized
Reusability	Can become SaaS / long-term compounding	Templatable, sells N times	One-off custom job
Channel fit	Can find 10 target users next week	Existing channels need warm-up	Total stranger group

Process

Step 1 · Ask 5 questions

Make founder (or self) answer:

1. Who is the target user? Specific: occupation, scale, location, age
2. How do they solve it today? (Excel? Outsourcing? Manual? Some tool?)
3. How much money / time do they spend on the current solution?
4. Why now? (timing rationale)
5. If a v1 ships in 2 weeks, who is the first paying customer? A specific person.

Can't answer Q5 = automatic 1 pt on Channel fit, skip the rest.

Step 2 · Score

Score each dimension using the 1-5 rubric.

Step 3 · Output evaluation report

# Idea Eval: [name]

## Summary
[one sentence]

## Target user profile
- Occupation:
- Scale:
- Geography:
- Current solution:
- Pain trigger frequency:

## 6-dim scores

| Dimension | Score | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Pain urgency | X/5 | ... |
| Willingness to pay | X/5 | ... |
| Deliverability | X/5 | ... |
| Differentiation | X/5 | ... |
| Reusability | X/5 | ... |
| Channel fit | X/5 | ... |
| **Total** | **X/30** |  |

## Verdict
**Decision**: 🟢 Golden (≥22) / 🟡 Workable (15-21) / 🔴 Skip (<15)

## Biggest uncertainty
[What's the single most critical assumption? How to validate in 1 week at lowest cost?]

## If go: recommended path
- MVP scope: cut down to only ___ features
- Target launch: within 2 weeks
- First user acquisition: ___
- Success metric: ___ trial users, ___ paying users within 2 weeks of launch
- Kill metric: no paying user within ___ → cut

## If no go: recommendation
- Lighter validation: ___ (e.g., landing page for sign-ups, fake-door button)
- Or: which other idea to merge with?

Step 4 · Write to file

Save evaluation to products/<idea-slug>/EVAL.md (auto-create directory).

If founder evaluates multiple ideas at once, append a comparison row to docs/ideas/scorecard.md:

| Idea | Total | Verdict | Eval Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ... | 22 | 🟢 | 2026-04-23 |
| ... | 16 | 🟡 | 2026-04-23 |

Common mistakes (founders self-scoring)

1. Urgency over-rated: You think it's important ≠ target users do. Ask "did anyone reach out about this last week?"
2. Willingness over-rated: Saying "I'd pay" ≠ actually paying. Need evidence of "currently paying for similar solution."
3. Deliverability under-rated: Many AI apps look simple but need 1-2 months of prompt engineering iteration.
4. Differentiation narcissism: You think "I'd do it better" — users may not perceive the difference.
5. Channel fit most ignored: No channel = even the best idea is 6-12 months of cold start.

Reverse validation (bonus)

If founder provides the following evidence, one dimension can gain +1 (max 5):

• Willingness to pay: someone already put down a deposit / explicitly said "I'd buy when ready" / already paying for similar
• Urgency: someone reached out last week / public community is complaining
• Channel fit: existing list of 10+ contacts reachable within 1 week