Free Download

The 37-Point Startup Validation Checklist

Every check I run before spending a dollar on an idea. Distilled from scanning 3,000+ startup ideas and watching which ones actually survive.

PDF format|Takes 2 min to read|Free, no strings

6 categories. 37 pass/fail checks.

Each check has clear criteria and an action step if you fail it. Work through them in order.

Problem Validation

7 checks

Can you describe the problem without mentioning your solution?

Have you found 10+ people who have this problem today?

Are they paying to solve it (money, time, or workarounds)?

Is the problem frequent enough to sustain a business?

+ 3 more in the full checklist

Market Demand

6 checks

Google Trends shows stable or growing interest

Reddit/forums have active discussions about this pain

Search volume exists for solution-aware keywords

Adjacent markets are growing (not shrinking)

+ 2 more in the full checklist

Competitor Landscape

8 checks

You can name at least 3 direct competitors

You know their pricing, funding, and traction

You have a clear positioning gap they leave open

No well-funded competitor is building your exact thing

+ 4 more in the full checklist

Unit Economics

6 checks

Your price point matches willingness to pay

CAC payback period is under 6 months

Gross margins exceed 60% (software)

Revenue per customer justifies acquisition cost

+ 2 more in the full checklist

Timing & Defensibility

5 checks

A recent shift makes this possible or urgent now

You have an unfair advantage (domain, network, data)

The product gets harder to replicate over time

Switching costs increase with usage

+ 1 more in the full checklist

Founder-Market Fit

5 checks

You have direct experience with this problem

You can build v1 without external funding

You can reach first 10 customers through your network

You would use this product yourself

+ 1 more in the full checklist

Why I made this

I spent 5 years doing growth marketing for startups. The pattern was always the same: the founders who validated hard and early survived. The ones who skipped it built beautiful products for markets that didn't exist.

35% of startups fail because there's no market need. Not bad code. Not funding. Nobody wanted what they built. I watched it happen over and over - smart people burning 6 months and $50K+ before discovering the idea had a fatal blind spot on day one.

This checklist is every check I ran manually before I automated the process into Preuve AI. It covers the same angles - market demand, competitor pressure, unit economics, timing, and founder-market fit. The difference is the checklist takes 20 minutes. Preuve does it in 60 seconds with live data from 40+ sources.

Both will save you from building the wrong thing.

Want to skip the manual work?

Scan my idea free

Free viability score. 60 seconds. No credit card.

Get the checklist. Kill bad ideas faster.

37 checks. 6 categories. Every angle covered.