Should I Build It Should I Build It
22 Apr 2025
Startup Lessons

Tell us your startup idea| We check if you should build it

Confidence
Engagement
Net use signal
Net buy signal

Idea type: Run Away

Multiple attempts have failed with clear negative feedback. Continuing down this path would likely waste your time and resources when better opportunities exist elsewhere.

Should You Build It?

Don't build it.

Your are here

Based on your idea of creating a tool that checks whether people should build a product and the comparable products in the market, you're entering a challenging space. Our analysis indicates that you're in the "Run Away" category, which suggests multiple similar attempts have met with negative feedback. With 25 similar products already out there, competition is stiff. Most similar products receive medium engagement, indicated by an average of 5 comments, while the net use and net buy signals are neutral, suggesting that on average people are neither excited nor averse to using or paying for these types of products. This category is described as one where you should not build the product.

Recommendations

  1. Begin by thoroughly examining the negative feedback from existing products. Understand why users rejected these tools. Look for recurring themes or specific pain points that you can address or avoid in future endeavors. For example, several similar products were criticized for simply wrapping GPT without adding unique value, or for employing 'unclassy' email collection tactics.
  2. Assess if your skills could be applied to a related but distinct problem. Are there adjacent areas where your expertise in idea validation might be more effectively utilized? Perhaps focusing on a specific niche or industry could yield better results.
  3. If you've already developed something, explore whether the underlying technology can be repurposed for a different application. Sometimes, a change in focus can unlock new potential for existing assets. Consider how you could leverage any existing algorithms or data sets you've created for a new purpose.
  4. Conduct in-depth interviews with at least three people who have used similar products. Learn about their actual needs and what they found lacking in existing solutions. This qualitative research can provide valuable insights that metrics alone can't capture. Understand what their workflow looks like and how you could improve their productivity through a different approach.
  5. Apply the knowledge you've gained from this analysis to a completely new idea. Use the insights you've gathered from the negative feedback and user interviews to identify a problem that's genuinely worth solving. Focus on identifying a clear value proposition that differentiates your product from existing solutions.
  6. Given that many similar products were criticized for their AI-driven validation, explore alternative validation methods. Could you integrate human expertise or community feedback to provide more nuanced and reliable assessments? The discussion summaries of competing products suggest skepticism toward purely AI-driven approaches.
  7. Refrain from implementing intrusive data collection practices, such as requiring emails upfront, as this has been criticized as 'unclassy' and off-putting. Prioritize transparency and user privacy to build trust. Instead, consider offering a free, no-obligation trial to demonstrate the value of your service.

Questions

  1. Given the criticisms of existing idea validation tools, how can you ensure that your new approach provides truly accurate and insightful feedback, avoiding the pitfalls of invalidating potentially successful businesses?
  2. Considering the skepticism toward AI-driven validation, what alternative or complementary methods could you integrate to provide a more holistic and reliable assessment of startup ideas?
  3. How can you create a value proposition that clearly differentiates your product from the numerous existing idea validation tools, addressing the specific pain points and unmet needs identified in user feedback?

Your are here

Based on your idea of creating a tool that checks whether people should build a product and the comparable products in the market, you're entering a challenging space. Our analysis indicates that you're in the "Run Away" category, which suggests multiple similar attempts have met with negative feedback. With 25 similar products already out there, competition is stiff. Most similar products receive medium engagement, indicated by an average of 5 comments, while the net use and net buy signals are neutral, suggesting that on average people are neither excited nor averse to using or paying for these types of products. This category is described as one where you should not build the product.

Recommendations

  1. Begin by thoroughly examining the negative feedback from existing products. Understand why users rejected these tools. Look for recurring themes or specific pain points that you can address or avoid in future endeavors. For example, several similar products were criticized for simply wrapping GPT without adding unique value, or for employing 'unclassy' email collection tactics.
  2. Assess if your skills could be applied to a related but distinct problem. Are there adjacent areas where your expertise in idea validation might be more effectively utilized? Perhaps focusing on a specific niche or industry could yield better results.
  3. If you've already developed something, explore whether the underlying technology can be repurposed for a different application. Sometimes, a change in focus can unlock new potential for existing assets. Consider how you could leverage any existing algorithms or data sets you've created for a new purpose.
  4. Conduct in-depth interviews with at least three people who have used similar products. Learn about their actual needs and what they found lacking in existing solutions. This qualitative research can provide valuable insights that metrics alone can't capture. Understand what their workflow looks like and how you could improve their productivity through a different approach.
  5. Apply the knowledge you've gained from this analysis to a completely new idea. Use the insights you've gathered from the negative feedback and user interviews to identify a problem that's genuinely worth solving. Focus on identifying a clear value proposition that differentiates your product from existing solutions.
  6. Given that many similar products were criticized for their AI-driven validation, explore alternative validation methods. Could you integrate human expertise or community feedback to provide more nuanced and reliable assessments? The discussion summaries of competing products suggest skepticism toward purely AI-driven approaches.
  7. Refrain from implementing intrusive data collection practices, such as requiring emails upfront, as this has been criticized as 'unclassy' and off-putting. Prioritize transparency and user privacy to build trust. Instead, consider offering a free, no-obligation trial to demonstrate the value of your service.

Questions

  1. Given the criticisms of existing idea validation tools, how can you ensure that your new approach provides truly accurate and insightful feedback, avoiding the pitfalls of invalidating potentially successful businesses?
  2. Considering the skepticism toward AI-driven validation, what alternative or complementary methods could you integrate to provide a more holistic and reliable assessment of startup ideas?
  3. How can you create a value proposition that clearly differentiates your product from the numerous existing idea validation tools, addressing the specific pain points and unmet needs identified in user feedback?

  • Confidence: High
    • Number of similar products: 25
  • Engagement: Medium
    • Average number of comments: 5
  • Net use signal: -1.6%
    • Positive use signal: 8.1%
    • Negative use signal: 9.8%
  • Net buy signal: -6.7%
    • Positive buy signal: 0.0%
    • Negative buy signal: 6.7%

This chart summarizes all the similar products we found for your idea in a single plot.

The x-axis represents the overall feedback each product received. This is calculated from the net use and buy signals that were expressed in the comments. The maximum is +1, which means all comments (across all similar products) were positive, expressed a willingness to use & buy said product. The minimum is -1 and it means the exact opposite.

The y-axis captures the strength of the signal, i.e. how many people commented and how does this rank against other products in this category. The maximum is +1, which means these products were the most liked, upvoted and talked about launches recently. The minimum is 0, meaning zero engagement or feedback was received.

The sizes of the product dots are determined by the relevance to your idea, where 10 is the maximum.

Your idea is the big blueish dot, which should lie somewhere in the polygon defined by these products. It can be off-center because we use custom weighting to summarize these metrics.

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