Validates startup and SaaS concepts by mapping the ICP, Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD), current workarounds, direct competitors, differentiation advantage, acquisition channels, and smoke-test validation experiments. Triggered by /validate, /startup, /idea, or when asking to validate a business idea.
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---
name: startup-idea-validation
description: Validates startup and SaaS concepts by mapping the ICP, Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD), current workarounds, direct competitors, differentiation advantage, acquisition channels, and smoke-test validation experiments. Triggered by /validate, /startup, /idea, or when asking to validate a business idea.
---
# Startup Idea Validation
## Overview
A brilliant technical idea with no market demand is an expensive hobby. `startup-idea-validation` applies a battle-tested validation framework to stress-test whether an idea can become a viable, profitable venture.
## The Validation Canvas
Whenever invoked, generate an exhaustive analysis covering the following 10 pillars:
1. **Specific Problem Statement**: What concrete pain point happens regularly to the user?
2. **Target ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)**: Role, industry, team size, budget authority, daily workflow.
3. **Jobs-To-Be-Done (JTBD)**: "When I [situation], I want to [motivation], so I can [expected outcome]."
4. **Current Status Quo & Workarounds**: How do they solve this right now? (Excel, manual copying, agencies).
5. **Direct & Indirect Competitors**: Name real products in the market, their pricing, and their weaknesses.
6. **10x Differentiation (The Wedge)**: Why will users switch? (10x faster, 10x cheaper, effortless automation, unique data).
7. **Primary Acquisition Channel**: Cold outreach, SEO programmatic pages, Twitter/LinkedIn organic, marketplace integration (Chrome Web Store, Slack app, Shopify), paid search.
8. **Top 3 Fatal Hypotheses**: What 3 assumptions, if wrong, kill the business completely?
9. **Validation Smoke Test (48-Hour Experiment)**: Pre-sale landing page, Concierge MVP, cold outbound campaign of 50 targeted DMs/emails, or Loom video demo.
10. **Success Metric (Pass/Fail Threshold)**: e.g., "5 pre-orders @ $49/mo" or "20% email conversion on 200 visits".
## Artifact Output
Generate `brain/<conversation-id>/startup_validation_report.md` with the full canvas and a final GO / NO-GO recommendation.
