Startup Idea Validation Checklist. Prompts, Tools and More.
After seeing 1,000,000 ideas come through our AI tool that helps you: Validate Startup Ideas:
Here are the 10 steps to validate that idea you’ve always had.
We also share our internal data of what makes a good idea.
Whether you are a solo entrepreneur or working inside a company… Let’s start now!
1. Start With the Problem, Not the Idea
In one sentence, write the problem that your target customer is having. What are they using now to solve the problem? What is the job that needs to be done, that the customer is failing to complete?
In-Company Employee
Start from inefficiency or customer friction.
Ask: What costs us time, money, or churn every week?
👉 What our data shows
Ideas with clear, concrete problem statements move forward quicker than abstract ideas.
2. Define a Real Customer
Describe exactly who your customer is. It can’t be broad like “everyone” or “women”. It needs to be a very narrow group of people you can easily reach. Who are they? What do they struggle with? Create a persona to work from:
“This is Jamie, her job is [X] and she has the problem of [Y] and she solves it currently with [Z]”.
In-Company Employee
Internal users or existing customers.
Example: “Support agents handling tier-2 tickets.”
👉 What our data shows
Ideas with specific customers are far more likely to progress to the next step (landing page, interviews, or repeat usage).
It’s impossible to validate your idea without a clear view of who the customer is and what problem they are trying to solve.
3. Check Founder–Problem Fit
List why you are the right person to work on this.
Solo Founder
Skills, network, lived pain, unfair insight.
In-Company Employee
Access to data, workflows, users, or internal trust.
👉 What our data shows
Founders mistakenly avoid building in industries they know best.
Strong ideas come from:
* lived experience
* domain exposure
* repeated personal frustration
4. Scan the Competition
Identify 5–10 alternatives. Look for what they don’t do well. ValidatorAI.com or ChatGPT can help find a unique value you can offer.
Try this CHATGPT prompt:
List the main competitors for my idea: [paste idea/problem].
For each competitor, please list:
What they do
Their pricing
How they position themselves
What their strong points and weaknesses are
What gaps they leave open
👉 What our data shows
Many weak ideas show competition blindness:
Founders either claim “no competitors” or list generic tools without differentiation.
👉 Write your value proposition next. Use this on CHATGPT:
Based on what I’ve learned, (my target customer is: [X], the pain point we are solving is: [Y], and the unique unserved advantage we have discovered is: [Z]), write a one-sentence value proposition.
5. Validate Demand with Real People
Talk to real people before building anything. Aim to locate 10 people that fit your customer persona from Step 2.
Ask them open ended questions about the problem you uncovered in Step1 and how they solve it now. Are they solving it the way you listed in Step 1? Is this something they’d pay for?
Where to find the first 10 people:
* Reddit Groups
* Facebook Groups
* IRL Meetups
* LinkedIn
* X
👉 If you are working at a company, these first 10 could be your most recent customer support tickets.
This step will uncover truths you haven’t considered yet and you’ll quicky determine if demand exists for your idea.
Try this CHATGPT prompt to build a simple script for the conversations:
Craft a short outreach message to interview potential customers about [problem]. Goal: conversation, not sales.
Include:
Why you’re asking
A respectful request for 5-10 minutes
Create 5 open-ended questions to uncover real pain for [problem].
Avoid leading questions.
👉 Then, rewrite your value proposition to fit the demand you uncovered in these conversations.
6. Build a Landing Page, not a Product
Create a single landing page explaining:
problem → solution → next step.
The goal is to gather signups and feedback, NOT to sell. We can sell later. We’re on a fact-finding mission.
👉 A quick and free way is to use Google Forms. Explain what you’re working on and include a place to gather feedback.
If you want to mockup something nicer, use:
👉 Base44
Prompt to use on Base44
Create a landing page for this idea:
Customer: [X] Problem: [Y] Solution: [Z]
Include:
A title, short subheading and describe the solution we are working on. Plus add a CTA to collect emails. Please use colors and images that match the market we are looking to enter.
The goal is to collect emails and feedback, so make the CTA prominent.
7. Measure Real Interest
Track behavior: emails, replies, objections.
Follow up with those interested and setup another round of interviews.
Determine if you are solving their pain completely and if they will pay you to create this solution.
8. Decide: Build, Pivot, or Kill
Make a decision based on evidence.
Is there clear demand?
Will they pay you for this solution?
Does anything need changed to accommodate the interest of these customers?
👉 What our data shows
Many founders linger too long at the idea stage.
Strong founders converge quickly on:
* narrower scope
* clearer customer
* simpler execution
9. Move to MVP, Only After Proof of Demand
Build the smallest thing that delivers value.
It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just needs to deliver value so you can see if those expressions of interest were genuine.
This is where you find out if people will pay you.
Tools founders actually use
Base44
Bubble
Replit
Lovable
👉 Don’t rule out a basic landing page with a custom written PDF as your first product. Sometimes, your customers just need clear instructions to solve their problem. This is a low-tech lift that you can easily do.
Read our article about how a simple PDF helped launch a massive business!
10. Drive the First 100 Visitors
After you see success with your test audience, it’s time to ramp up the funnel.
Don’t overthink it… just get more people that fit your customer persona.
Find the first 100 people here:
* Reddit
* Facebook Groups
* Niche Discord Groups
* X replies
* LinkedIn Posts
* Product Hunt (timed launch)
Just be relentless. Be everywhere. Be helpful, contribute and form relationships.
Remember!
Validation is about evidence. You’re a detective during this phase. You need to find:
* a real customer
* a specific pain
* why you understand it
* how you can solve it in a way the competition can’t
* if your customer will pay for it
Build Your Landing Page Next with Base44
Founders who move from idea → page learn 3× faster.
Paste this prompt into Base44
to instantly mockup your idea and collect emails:
“I’m building [X] for [specific customer] who struggle with [specific problem].
My goal is to validate demand by collecting emails and pre-orders.”
👉 Build your landing page for free on Base44
I hope this article helps you iterate your idea and move it forward.
Here are the 10 steps to validate that idea you’ve always had.
We also share our internal data of what makes a good idea.
Whether you are a solo entrepreneur or working inside a company… Let’s start now!
1. Start With the Problem, Not the Idea
In one sentence, write the problem that your target customer is having. What are they using now to solve the problem? What is the job that needs to be done, that the customer is failing to complete?
In-Company Employee
Start from inefficiency or customer friction.
Ask: What costs us time, money, or churn every week?
👉 What our data shows
Ideas with clear, concrete problem statements move forward quicker than abstract ideas.
2. Define a Real Customer
Describe exactly who your customer is. It can’t be broad like “everyone” or “women”. It needs to be a very narrow group of people you can easily reach. Who are they? What do they struggle with? Create a persona to work from:
“This is Jamie, her job is [X] and she has the problem of [Y] and she solves it currently with [Z]”.
In-Company Employee
Internal users or existing customers.
Example: “Support agents handling tier-2 tickets.”
👉 What our data shows
Ideas with specific customers are far more likely to progress to the next step (landing page, interviews, or repeat usage).
It’s impossible to validate your idea without a clear view of who the customer is and what problem they are trying to solve.
3. Check Founder–Problem Fit
List why you are the right person to work on this.
Solo Founder
Skills, network, lived pain, unfair insight.
In-Company Employee
Access to data, workflows, users, or internal trust.
👉 What our data shows
Founders mistakenly avoid building in industries they know best.
Strong ideas come from:
* lived experience
* domain exposure
* repeated personal frustration
4. Scan the Competition
Identify 5–10 alternatives. Look for what they don’t do well. ValidatorAI.com or ChatGPT can help find a unique value you can offer.
Try this CHATGPT prompt:
List the main competitors for my idea: [paste idea/problem].
For each competitor, please list:
What they do
Their pricing
How they position themselves
What their strong points and weaknesses are
What gaps they leave open
👉 What our data shows
Many weak ideas show competition blindness:
Founders either claim “no competitors” or list generic tools without differentiation.
👉 Write your value proposition next. Use this on CHATGPT:
Based on what I’ve learned, (my target customer is: [X], the pain point we are solving is: [Y], and the unique unserved advantage we have discovered is: [Z]), write a one-sentence value proposition.
5. Validate Demand with Real People
Talk to real people before building anything. Aim to locate 10 people that fit your customer persona from Step 2.
Ask them open ended questions about the problem you uncovered in Step1 and how they solve it now. Are they solving it the way you listed in Step 1? Is this something they’d pay for?
Where to find the first 10 people:
* Reddit Groups
* Facebook Groups
* IRL Meetups
* X
👉 If you are working at a company, these first 10 could be your most recent customer support tickets.
This step will uncover truths you haven’t considered yet and you’ll quicky determine if demand exists for your idea.
Try this CHATGPT prompt to build a simple script for the conversations:
Craft a short outreach message to interview potential customers about [problem]. Goal: conversation, not sales.
Include:
Why you’re asking
A respectful request for 5-10 minutes
Create 5 open-ended questions to uncover real pain for [problem].
Avoid leading questions.
👉 Then, rewrite your value proposition to fit the demand you uncovered in these conversations.
6. Build a Landing Page, not a Product
Create a single landing page explaining:
problem → solution → next step.
The goal is to gather signups and feedback, NOT to sell. We can sell later. We’re on a fact-finding mission.
👉 A quick and free way is to use Google Forms. Explain what you’re working on and include a place to gather feedback.
If you want to mockup something nicer, use:
👉 Base44
Prompt to use on Base44
Create a landing page for this idea:
Customer: [X] Problem: [Y] Solution: [Z]
Include:
A title, short subheading and describe the solution we are working on. Plus add a CTA to collect emails. Please use colors and images that match the market we are looking to enter.
The goal is to collect emails and feedback, so make the CTA prominent.
7. Measure Real Interest
Track behavior: emails, replies, objections.
Follow up with those interested and setup another round of interviews.
Determine if you are solving their pain completely and if they will pay you to create this solution.
8. Decide: Build, Pivot, or Kill
Make a decision based on evidence.
Is there clear demand?
Will they pay you for this solution?
Does anything need changed to accommodate the interest of these customers?
👉 What our data shows
Many founders linger too long at the idea stage.
Strong founders converge quickly on:
* narrower scope
* clearer customer
* simpler execution
9. Move to MVP, Only After Proof of Demand
Build the smallest thing that delivers value.
It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just needs to deliver value so you can see if those expressions of interest were genuine.
This is where you find out if people will pay you.
Tools founders actually use
Base44
Bubble
Replit
Lovable
👉 Don’t rule out a basic landing page with a custom written PDF as your first product. Sometimes, your customers just need clear instructions to solve their problem. This is a low-tech lift that you can easily do.
Read our article about how a simple PDF helped launch a massive business!
10. Drive the First 100 Visitors
After you see success with your test audience, it’s time to ramp up the funnel.
Don’t overthink it… just get more people that fit your customer persona.
Find the first 100 people here:
* Facebook Groups
* Niche Discord Groups
* X replies
* LinkedIn Posts
* Product Hunt (timed launch)
Just be relentless. Be everywhere. Be helpful, contribute and form relationships.
Remember!
Validation is about evidence. You’re a detective during this phase. You need to find:
* a real customer
* a specific pain
* why you understand it
* how you can solve it in a way the competition can’t
* if your customer will pay for it
Build Your Landing Page Next with Base44
Founders who move from idea → page learn 3× faster.
Paste this prompt into Base44
to instantly mockup your idea and collect emails:
“I’m building [X] for [specific customer] who struggle with [specific problem].
My goal is to validate demand by collecting emails and pre-orders.”
👉 Build your landing page for free on Base44
I hope this article helps you iterate your idea and move it forward.
