Startup Validator — Structure Your Validation Before You Build#

Overview#

Helps founders and indie hackers structure early validation: market-fit signals, competitive landscape, and MVP scope. Clearer than a generic “idea check”—it’s framed around starting up (problem, market, and first ship).

Trigger keywords: startup validation, founder idea check, competitive analysis, MVP scope, PMF, pre-launch

Prerequisites#

bash

pip install requests

(Optional if you extend the tool to call external APIs; the bundled script uses the Python stdlib.)

Capabilities#

1. Multi-dimensional review — market, competitors, tech stack, business model (see references/startup_validator_guide.md).
2. Persona & need framing — who pays and what job-to-be-done is.
3. MVP & roadmap sketch — a realistic first release slice.

Commands#

CommandDescriptionExamplevalidateValidation pass for an ideapython3 scripts/startup_validator_tool.py validate [args]``competeCompetitive landscape passpython3 scripts/startup_validator_tool.py compete [args]``mvpMVP plan scaffoldpython3 scripts/startup_validator_tool.py mvp [args]

Usage (from repository root)#

bash

python3 scripts/skills/startup-validator/scripts/startup_validator_tool.py validate --idea 'SaaS bookkeeping'
python3 scripts/skills/startup-validator/scripts/startup_validator_tool.py compete --market 'bookkeeping'
python3 scripts/skills/startup-validator/scripts/startup_validator_tool.py mvp --idea 'SaaS bookkeeping'

Output format (for the agent’s report)#

markdown

# Startup validation report

**Generated**: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM

## Key findings
1. [Finding 1]
2. [Finding 2]
3. [Finding 3]

## Data snapshot
| Metric | Value | Trend | Rating |
|--------|-------|-------|--------|
| A | XXX | ↑ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| B | YYY | → | ⭐⭐⭐ |

## Analysis
[Multi-dimensional analysis grounded in data you actually have]

## Recommendations
| Priority | Action | Expected impact |
|----------|--------|-----------------|
| High | [Action] | [Quantify if possible] |
| Medium | [Action] | … |
| Low | [Action] | … |

References#

Core links#

• YC: The real product/market fit
• Pre-build idea validator use case (OpenClaw)
• Market research product factory use case

Community#

• Hacker News discussion
• Reddit r/startups — related thread

Notes#

• Prefer real data from APIs, search, or user-provided sources; do not invent metrics.
• Mark missing data as unavailable instead of guessing.
• Treat AI output as input to judgment, not a go/no-go by itself.
• Optional: pip install requests if you extend the script with HTTP calls.

Legacy name#

This skill was previously published as idea-validator. The slug is now startup-validator (friendlier for “founder / startup” workflows). If an old path is bookmarked, migrate to scripts/skills/startup-validator/.