W.
IDEA VALIDATION FRAMEWORK

Stop Building on Vibes.
Validate First.

An 8-stage framework that separates real opportunities from expensive assumptions. Built as a Claude skill you install and run.

Get the Free Skill →

Used to validate 5 Product Hunt launches: 1 Go, 2 Conditional, 1 Pivot, 1 No-Go

From chaotic idea board to structured validation scorecard

Most ideas die from assumptions, not execution.

PMs and founders spend months building before checking if the problem is real, the market is big enough, or the business model works. Product Hunt upvotes measure hype. Investor interest measures narrative. Neither measures viability. This framework does.

I validated 5 top Product Hunt launches.
Here’s what the scorecard revealed.

Fathom 3.0

Go

801 upvotes

Problem•••
Market•••
Competition•••
Solution Fit•••
Business Model•••

$30M ARR. 5.0/5.0 on G2. Validated — the rest is execution.

Plurai

Conditional

779 upvotes

Problem•••
Market•••
Competition•••
Solution Fit•••
Business Model•••

Right market, right timing. $0.15/1M tokens may be too thin for a 4-person team.

Tycoon AI

Conditional

499 upvotes

Problem•••
Market•••
Competition•••
Solution Fit•••
Business Model•••

29M solopreneurs want this. The $49-to-$499 pricing gap is a churn machine.

WarmIntro

Pivot

225 upvotes

Problem•••
Market•••
Competition•••
Solution Fit•••
Business Model•••

Great problem. Zero monetization. Needs a rethink, not a launch.

HeyNews

No-Go

142 upvotes

Problem•••
Market•••
Competition•••
Solution Fit•••
Business Model•••

AI newsletter writer in 2026. Beehiiv already has AI. ChatGPT does this for $20/mo.

Upvotes ≠ viability

Five products inspected: Go, Conditional, Conditional, Pivot, No-Go

779 upvotes hid a pricing problem. 225 upvotes hid a fatal business model gap. The scorecard reveals what hype can’t.

8 stages. 5 dimensions. One verdict.

  1. 1
    Problem Framing“What are you actually solving?”
  2. 2
    Problem Validation“Is this real or are you imagining it?”
  3. 3
    ICP & Market Sizing“How many people have this problem?”
  4. 4
    Competitive Landscape“Why not just use what already exists?”
  5. 5
    Solution-Market Fit“Does your solution actually solve the validated problem?”
  6. 6
    Business Model Stress Test“Can this be a business, not just a product?”
  7. 7
    Gap Analysis & Validation Plans“What are you still assuming without evidence?”
  8. 8
    Scorecard & Recommendation“Go, pivot, or kill — with receipts.”

Each stage gates the next. Evidence beats assumption.

The 8-stage Idea Validation Framework infographic

Three skills in one download.

Idea Validation Coach

The main 8-stage framework. Discovery mode (conversational, one question at a time) or Draft mode (autonomous analysis, then review).

Market Sizing

Standalone TAM/SAM/SOM analysis with transparent methodology. Called during Stage 3 or used independently.

Competitive Landscape

Player mapping, feature comparison, strategic implications. Called during Stage 4 or used independently.

Works in Claude Cowork, Claude Code, and claude.ai Projects.

Three steps.

1

Drop the skill folder into Claude Cowork (or Claude Code)

2

Describe your idea — even a single sentence works

3

Get a scored validation report with evidence, confidence levels, and a clear verdict

Not a vibes check. A structured analysis with sources.