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Aron here. 👬 Let’s connect on LinkedIn!

Today we’re analyzing founder habits via our Idea Validation Tool and AI Startup Idea Generator

Our data shows that 9% of our visitors take the next step and mockup their idea at Base44. Those that do, have a better shot at making their idea something real.
👉 Mockup your idea in 2 minutes, for FREE: Base44

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Categories that our members are building in (and what’s cooling)

• E‑commerce ideas are up 12.5%.

• Classic SaaS submissions are still the largest bucket but shrank 24%, while broad “AI” and “tech” both dropped a third, and general “platforms” fell 40%.

• Expect a wave of AI-augmented online retail tools and ops automation rather than more generic AI devtools.

A Few Articles About Funding + The Truth

What We Learned This Year From 6 Active AI Investors Backing Startups Across The Stack ($100B)

The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds ($4B)

Guys, gals: If you’re making progress just to check boxes for funding, please save your time. Investors are looking for massive opportunities, with a team that’s done it before. They aren’t funding unproven ideas. Forget venture capital and immediately go find customers willing to pay you.

Founder Blind Spots :(

• Stalled founders this week are obsessing over perfectly articulated visions and long-form positioning docs. 

• That’s dangerous because it creates a false sense of readiness: you feel “done” because the deck is sharp, but the first real customer conversation will expose gaps in your thinking.

Founder WINS! 😊 

• Progressing founders are showing improved clarity in customer definitions, with 2407 entries demonstrating more specific customer targeting. This predicts better execution outcomes.

• Stronger alignment between skills and industries is evident, as entries show founders leveraging domain experience more effectively.

• Problem statements have improved, with entries including measurable pain points and urgency signals.

• Increased industry alignment: founders are choosing industries where they have direct experience, reducing failure patterns.

• Why this matters for beginners today: Founders who start with clear customer definitions and founder advantages are more likely to reach paying customers within 90 days.

  
  

The 5 Signals We See that Predict Success!

Customer Specificity Is the Strongest Predictor of Execution

Founders who describe a specific, reachable customer (“HR managers at 50–200 person logistics firms”) are 2–3× more likely to progress beyond the idea stage than founders who say “small businesses,” “users,” or “big companies.”

Problem Type Determines Build Momentum

Ideas framed around operational bottlenecks (manual approvals, scheduling chaos, compliance overhead) move forward faster than generic ideas.

Domain Experience Beats Trend Chasing Every Time

Founders building in industries where they have lived experience (education, consulting, ops-heavy roles) generate better ideas.

Language Quality Predicts Build Completion

Founders who write in concrete, boring language (“manual invoice approvals delay payroll”) outperform founders who use buzzwords.

Founder Motivation Signals Predict Drop-Off vs Persistence

High follow-through when a founder chases: personal frustration and fixing a job-specific pain. Low follow through when a founder chases trends, status and vague side projects.

One Thing to Do Today

Take your idea and rewrite it in one sentence that includes:

• a real customer

• a specific pain

• why you understand it better than anyone else

If that sentence is hard to write, you now know what you need to work on.

Build Your Landing Page Next (Free)

Founders who move from idea → page learn 3× faster.

Paste this prompt into Base44 to instantly mockup your idea and collect emails:

👉 Build your landing page for free on Base44

See you soon.

Reply to this email if you need a second set of eyes on your idea.

Aron Meystedt

Chief Data Nerd at ValidatorAI.com

👬 Let’s connect on LinkedIn!

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