How to Validate a Startup Idea
Curious how people come up with Good Startup and Business Ideas?
Here is our data showing what people are doing right.
All data comes from our site where people Validate Startup Ideas with our AI tool.
The key things that matter that our members are doing:
Customer specificity ██████████░░ +18%
Founder advantage usage █████████░░░ +14%
Operational problem clarity ████████░░░░ +12%
Skill–industry alignment ███████░░░░░ +9%
Execution readiness ██████░░░░░░ +7%
What this means:
Founders are slowly shifting from “cool ideas” to clear problems for real people. This is exactly what strong ideas look like before success is visible.
What Founders Are Doing RIGHT
1. They’re naming real customers
More founders described specific people in specific contexts (parents, agencies, operators), not abstract markets.
2. They’re using lived experience as leverage
Founders with backgrounds in healthcare, education, sports, music, and agriculture are finally building inside their own world.
3. They’re choosing operational pain over aspirational hype
Workflow, admin, coordination, compliance, and monetization problems dominated the strongest inputs.
4. They’re targeting buyers with budgets
Narrow B2B and service-driven customers consistently outperformed “everyone” or broad consumer ideas.
Why this matters for beginners:
You don’t need a big idea.
You need a clear customer, a painful job, and a reason you’re the right person to solve it.
5 Strong Idea Inputs
Examples of strong ideas, based on targeted customers with real problems:
Customer: Parents & coaches of kids ages 3–12
Problem: Communication gaps, low engagement, admin overload
Customer: Home care & hospice agencies
Problem: Inefficient lead generation and conversion
Customer: Women 50+ navigating menopause
Problem: Fragmented, untrusted support and information
Customer: Independent music artists
Problem: Difficulty monetizing beyond streams
Customer: Farmers and orchard owners
Problem: Low yields from outdated practices
Strong vs Weak Inputs (Side-by-Side)
Make sure you’re analyzing your idea via the STRONG INPUTS side.
STRONG INPUTS WEAK INPUTS
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Specific customer “Everyone”
Clear daily pain Vague aspiration
Founder has lived experience No domain advantage
Narrow, reachable market Massive, abstract market
Operational or revenue problem “AI for X” solution
Key takeaway:
👉 Strong ideas start with constraints and proximity.
Weak ideas start with technology and imagination.
Emerging Founder Success Signals
Patterns correlated with higher-quality ideas:
Clear customer → stronger ideas ████████████
Domain expertise → better alignment ██████████░░
Constraints → realism █████████░░░
Vague customers → weak ideas ████████████ (negative)
Prediction:
Expect continued movement toward niche B2B and operational tools as founders react to AI saturation.
One Thing To Do Today
Write one sentence answering:
“Who is my first customer, and what job are they hiring me for?”
If that sentence feels uncomfortable, that’s the work we need to tackle.
I hope this helps you come up with better ideas!
Be sure to 👉 Validate Your Idea today!
Here is our data showing what people are doing right.
All data comes from our site where people Validate Startup Ideas with our AI tool.
The key things that matter that our members are doing:
Customer specificity ██████████░░ +18%
Founder advantage usage █████████░░░ +14%
Operational problem clarity ████████░░░░ +12%
Skill–industry alignment ███████░░░░░ +9%
Execution readiness ██████░░░░░░ +7%
What this means:
Founders are slowly shifting from “cool ideas” to clear problems for real people. This is exactly what strong ideas look like before success is visible.
What Founders Are Doing RIGHT
1. They’re naming real customers
More founders described specific people in specific contexts (parents, agencies, operators), not abstract markets.
2. They’re using lived experience as leverage
Founders with backgrounds in healthcare, education, sports, music, and agriculture are finally building inside their own world.
3. They’re choosing operational pain over aspirational hype
Workflow, admin, coordination, compliance, and monetization problems dominated the strongest inputs.
4. They’re targeting buyers with budgets
Narrow B2B and service-driven customers consistently outperformed “everyone” or broad consumer ideas.
Why this matters for beginners:
You don’t need a big idea.
You need a clear customer, a painful job, and a reason you’re the right person to solve it.
5 Strong Idea Inputs
Examples of strong ideas, based on targeted customers with real problems:
Customer: Parents & coaches of kids ages 3–12
Problem: Communication gaps, low engagement, admin overload
Customer: Home care & hospice agencies
Problem: Inefficient lead generation and conversion
Customer: Women 50+ navigating menopause
Problem: Fragmented, untrusted support and information
Customer: Independent music artists
Problem: Difficulty monetizing beyond streams
Customer: Farmers and orchard owners
Problem: Low yields from outdated practices
Strong vs Weak Inputs (Side-by-Side)
Make sure you’re analyzing your idea via the STRONG INPUTS side.
STRONG INPUTS WEAK INPUTS
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Specific customer “Everyone”
Clear daily pain Vague aspiration
Founder has lived experience No domain advantage
Narrow, reachable market Massive, abstract market
Operational or revenue problem “AI for X” solution
Key takeaway:
👉 Strong ideas start with constraints and proximity.
Weak ideas start with technology and imagination.
Emerging Founder Success Signals
Patterns correlated with higher-quality ideas:
Clear customer → stronger ideas ████████████
Domain expertise → better alignment ██████████░░
Constraints → realism █████████░░░
Vague customers → weak ideas ████████████ (negative)
Prediction:
Expect continued movement toward niche B2B and operational tools as founders react to AI saturation.
One Thing To Do Today
Write one sentence answering:
“Who is my first customer, and what job are they hiring me for?”
If that sentence feels uncomfortable, that’s the work we need to tackle.
I hope this helps you come up with better ideas!
Be sure to 👉 Validate Your Idea today!
