IdeaValidator Platform Help

IdeaValidator (ideavalidator.app — not the same-named ideavalidator.io or myideavalidator.com) is an
AI idea validator whose differentiator is that it doesn't stop at a score — it generates a full
17-section Product Requirements Document (PRD) you can hand to a builder. You describe an idea,
answer 2-4 AI clarifying questions, and in under three minutes get a Worth Doing / Proceed with
Caution / Pass verdict scored across four dimensions, then can generate or refine the PRD and an
early-access Lab (financial model, hiring plan, execution playbook, UI mockups, GTM). Every action
spends credits; it's UI-only, no API.

Step 1 — Gather context

If references/learnings.md exists, read it first for accumulated platform knowledge.

Ask only what you can't infer from the user's prompt:

1. Where are you? (a) about to run an idea through IdeaValidator, (b) staring at a verdict/score and
   unsure what to do with it, (c) deciding whether to spend credits on the 17-section PRD, (d) want to
   use the PRD to actually build (e.g. in Claude Code), (e) asking whether it has an API/export.
2. What's the idea, in one sentence? (helps you read the four-dimension score).
3. What have you got so far — just a hunch, an AI score, a landing page, a waitlist, or someone
   offered to pay?

Skip-ahead rule: if the user's prompt already contains enough context, skip to Step 2.

Step 2 — Route or answer directly

IdeaValidator is one AI validator. Most of the thinking a founder needs is tool-agnostic — route it:

When routing, give the exact command: "This is a validation-method question — run: /sales-idea-validation {the user's original question}"

Answer directly only for IdeaValidator-specific mechanics (the four dimensions, the verdict bands,
the 17-section PRD, PRD refinement, the Lab, credit costs, "does it have an API").

Step 3 — IdeaValidator platform reference

Read references/platform-guide.md for the full reference — the four scoring dimensions, the
verdict bands, the 17 PRD sections, the Lab modules, credit costs per action, pricing/plan gates, the
(absent) automation surface, and how to get data out.

Answer using only the relevant section — don't dump the whole guide.

Step 4 — Actionable guidance

• The verdict AND the 17-section PRD are AI opinions, not demand. A "Worth Doing" verdict plus a
  polished, investor-grade PRD feels like proof — but it's a generated document, not a stranger
  paying. Keep the structured parts (competitive landscape, MVP scope, risks) to sharpen the pitch and
  hand to a builder; take the actual go/no-go from a real behavior test (smoke test / pre-sale). Route
  that test to /sales-funnel + /sales-audience-growth.
• Treat the PRD as a build-handoff artifact, not the decision. IdeaValidator's real edge in this
  cluster is that it turns validation into a spec: feed the PRD's MVP Scope, Functional Requirements,
  and Architecture sections into Claude Code / Cursor or to a developer to start building. But its
  Market Analysis (TAM/SAM/SOM) and Competitive Landscape sections are AI-generated estimates —
  verify every number and named competitor before you rely on them or put them in front of investors.
• Budget credits before you generate. The free tier is 50 credits/month; a full 17-section PRD
  costs 50 credits, an evaluation costs 10, and a PRD refinement costs 30 — so free ≈ one
  PRD OR ~five evaluations per month. Subscription credits reset monthly (they don't roll over)
  while top-up credits never expire. Don't burn a month's credits refining a PRD for an idea you
  haven't validated with real demand yet.
• Feed a specific customer + painkiller problem; thin input → generic PRD. The 2-4 clarifying
  questions are what the verdict and PRD are built on — answer them concretely (a named target customer
  and an urgent, paid-for pain), or the four-dimension score and the 17 sections come back generic.
• Cross-check the verdict with a second source. Before treating a verdict as final, re-run with a
  sharper customer/problem and cross-check against a second validator or a real-demand signal
  (/sales-trendseeker) — disagreement between sources is the useful information.
• There's no API — point automation at the demand test, not the report. IdeaValidator is UI-only
  (no public API, webhooks, Zapier/Make, or MCP); export is PDF. Don't plan an integration around
  it — the highest-value "export" is copying the PRD text into Claude Code to build. Put any real
  pipeline on the demand side (landing-page analytics, waitlist capture, pre-sale checkout events).
• Present all pricing/credit costs as best-effort and tell the user to confirm at
  ideavalidator.app — this is a small, fast-moving indie tool and the Lab is early access.

If you discover a gotcha, workaround, or tip not covered in references/learnings.md, append it there.

Gotchas

Best-effort from research (2026-07) — the AI-validator tool set churns fast; verify the dimensions, credit costs, and the Lab's status at ideavalidator.app.

• A "Worth Doing" verdict and a finished PRD are not validated demand. Both are AI output from a
  short description; a polished PRD raises the feeling of certainty without adding real evidence.
  Always follow with a real-behavior test.
• Name/URL confusion — confirm you're on ideavalidator.app. Several unrelated products share the
  name: ideavalidator.io is a different "customer development" tool, and myideavalidator.com and a
  Google Play "Idea Validator" are also distinct. This skill is the .app PRD generator.
• Credit math bites on the free plan. 50 free credits/month = ~one 17-section PRD (50) or ~five
  evaluations (10 each); a refinement is 30. Subscription credits reset monthly and don't roll over;
  only purchased top-up credits never expire. Failed AI operations are auto-refunded.
• The PRD's market/competitor numbers are AI estimates. "Monitors 850+ competitors / 3,900+ sources"
  is marketing; the TAM/SAM/SOM and Competitive Landscape sections are model-generated — verify before
  quoting to investors.
• The Lab is early access. The six modules (financial model, competitive deep-dive, team & hiring
  plan, execution playbook, UI mockup pack, go-to-market plan) may change, be gated, or move behind Pro.
• SaaS/digital-oriented. The PRD framing (MVP scope, architecture, functional requirements) assumes
  a software product — it fits weakly for physical goods, services, or brick-and-mortar.
• No API, webhooks, Zapier, or MCP. UI-only; export is PDF. Don't build automation on it.

Related skills

• /sales-idea-validation — the tool-agnostic validate-before-building method and the full idea-validator comparison (start here to decide whether to trust any verdict)
• /sales-funnel — build the smoke-test / fake-door landing page the real demand test runs on
• /sales-audience-growth — grow a pre-launch waitlist and capture signups once you're testing demand
• /sales-trendseeker — Reddit-based real-demand signal to cross-check IdeaValidator's verdict
• /sales-do — Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill. Install: npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-do -a claude-code

Examples

Example 1: "It said 'Worth Doing' and gave me a 17-section PRD — am I ready to build?"

User says: "IdeaValidator scored my idea 'Worth Doing' and generated a full 17-section PRD. Should I start building?"
Skill does: Reframes the verdict and the PRD as AI output, not demand — keeps the useful structured parts (competitive landscape, MVP scope, risks) to sharpen the pitch and hand to a builder, but prescribes the real test: a smoke-test landing page with a pre-committed conversion threshold, then a pre-sale, routing the build to /sales-funnel and signups to /sales-audience-growth. Notes the PRD is a great build-handoff artifact for Claude Code once demand is proven.
Result: The founder validates real behavior before betting the build on a generated document.

Example 2 (credits): "How many PRDs can I generate on the free plan?"

User says: "I'm on the free plan. How many PRDs do I get a month and what does one cost?"
Skill does: Answers from the credit model — free tier is 50 credits/month and a full 17-section PRD costs 50 credits, so ~one PRD per month (or ~five evaluations at 10 credits each); a refinement costs 30. Flags that subscription credits reset monthly (no rollover) while top-up credits never expire, and advises not spending a month's credits refining a PRD for an unvalidated idea. Marks pricing best-effort — confirm at ideavalidator.app.
Result: The user plans credit spend instead of burning the month on one idea.

Example 3 (automation): "Can I auto-export my PRDs into Notion via API?"

User says: "I want to pull my IdeaValidator PRDs into Notion / my repo automatically — is there an API or webhook?"
Skill does: States plainly that IdeaValidator is UI-only — no public API, no webhooks, no Zapier/Make, no MCP; the only export is a PDF. Offers the realistic path: copy the PRD text (the highest-value move is pasting the MVP Scope / Functional Requirements / Architecture into Claude Code to build), or — since the report isn't demand anyway — point any pipeline at the real demand test (landing-page analytics, waitlist, pre-sale events).
Result: The user stops trying to integrate a UI-only tool and uses the PRD where it actually pays off.

Troubleshooting

The verdict/PRD feels too optimistic to trust

Symptom: A glowing "Worth Doing" and a confident PRD the founder senses is too easy.
Cause: It's AI output generated from a short description and 2-4 answers; the four dimensions and the 17 sections amplify how you framed the customer and problem.
Solution: Keep the structured outputs (competitive landscape, MVP scope, risks), discard the verdict, re-run with a sharper customer + painkiller problem, cross-check with a second validator or /sales-trendseeker, and earn the real verdict with a smoke test / pre-sale.

"I ran out of credits after one PRD"

Symptom: The free plan is exhausted almost immediately.
Cause: A full PRD costs 50 credits and the free tier grants 50/month — one PRD empties it; refinements cost another 30.
Solution: Budget before generating — run cheaper 10-credit evaluations to iterate the idea first, generate the 50-credit PRD only once the idea is worth it, and note subscription credits reset monthly (no rollover) while purchased top-ups never expire. Confirm current costs at ideavalidator.app.

The PRD's market size / competitors look wrong

Symptom: The Market Analysis or Competitive Landscape section cites numbers or rivals that seem off.
Cause: Those sections are AI-generated estimates, not sourced data — the "850+ competitors / 3,900+ sources" claim is marketing, not per-report citations.
Solution: Treat the market/competitor sections as a first draft to verify — check TAM/SAM/SOM against real sources and confirm each named competitor exists and competes, before quoting any of it to investors or building on it.

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