How to Fill Out the Idea Validation Questionnaire (the Right Way)
The research is only as sharp as what you put in. Here is how to give the questionnaire the detail it needs, step by step.
The questionnaire is not a test. It is the brief you hand our research engine before it goes and checks whether your idea holds up. Every answer you give aims the research: it decides which customers we look for, which competitors we price against, and which risks we dig into. Vague answers produce a vague report. Specific, honest answers produce a sharp, sourced verdict you can actually act on.
Here is how to fill out each step so the report comes back as useful as possible.
Before you start: three rules
- Be specific. "Small business owners" could mean ten million people. "Owners of one to three location fitness studios" is something we can research. Narrow beats broad every time.
- Be honest about what you do not know. Several fields have an "I don't know yet" option. Use it. A guessed answer sends the research in the wrong direction; an honest "not sure" tells us to go find out.
- Write like you are briefing a sharp friend, not filling out a form. Plain words, real detail, no buzzwords.
Step 1: The Idea
This is the foundation, so spend the most time here.
- Working title. A name or a short phrase is fine. It is only a label.
- Describe the idea. This is the single most important field in the whole questionnaire. Write a full paragraph in plain words: what it is, who it is for, and what it does. The more concrete detail you give, the sharper the research. Do not hold back, and do not compress it into one line.
- Product type. Pick every form it ships in. If it is both a web app and a mobile app, select both.
- Industry or category. Search the list or type your own. This scopes the market and competitor research.
- Target geography. Select every market you are actually targeting. If it is a local or physical business, you will be asked for a specific location instead, so be precise: a neighborhood, city, or region. Local research is only as good as the location you give it.
- Already up and running? If you already have a live product or business for this, say so, and add the live website if you want us to weigh real traction, not just potential.
Step 2: Customer and Problem
- Who is this for? Be specific. Name the actual segment, not "everyone."
- What problem does it solve? Describe the real pain or unmet need. For a local or physical business this can be an unmet want, not only a painful problem.
- Severity, frequency, and cost of doing nothing (optional). These tell us how badly the problem bites. A problem a customer hits daily that costs them real money is a very different idea from a once-a-year minor annoyance. Answer for a typical target customer, not the whole market.
- Who uses it and who pays? Fill these in when the user and the buyer are different people, for example staff use it but the owner buys it. It changes who we research.
Step 3: Current Alternatives
A lot of ideas live or die here, so do not skip it.
- How do people solve this today? There is always a status quo, even if it is a spreadsheet, a workaround, or doing nothing. Name it honestly.
- Known competitors. Add every one you know. We will find the rest, but your list tells us who you think you are up against.
- Why are current options insufficient? This is your real opening. Be concrete about what is missing today.
If you believe there are no competitors, we will still look, and we usually find them. It is better to name the alternatives yourself.
Step 4: Differentiation
- What makes this different, and why would someone switch? Switching costs are real. Be honest about why someone would leave what they already use. "It is better" is not enough; say how.
- Initial niche. A narrow first audience beats a broad launch. If you have one, name it.
- Distribution advantage. An existing audience, a community, partnerships, or an SEO head start all count. Say so.
- Least certain assumption. This is the most valuable field on this step. Name the one thing that, if it turns out to be wrong, kills the idea. Naming it points the research straight at what matters most. Do not smooth it over.
Step 5: Business Model
- Expected monetization. Pick the closest model. If the product is deliberately free with no revenue, choose that, and we will judge it on adoption and retention instead of willingness to pay.
- Expected price. A rough anchor or a range is fine. If you genuinely do not know, tick "I don't know yet" rather than inventing a number.
- Usage frequency and value type. These tell us whether this is a one-time hit or something people come back to and keep paying for.
Step 6: Founder Constraints
These do not change whether the idea is good, but they change what advice is realistic for you.
- Team, hours per week, and budget. Answer honestly. A verdict that assumes a funded team is useless if you are a solo builder with ten hours a week.
- Timeline, dependencies, and legal concerns. Flag anything the idea leans on: a third-party API, a supplier, a license, a regulation. Surprises here sink projects.
- Ambition. A weekend side project and a venture-scale company get judged against different bars. Tell us which one you want.
Step 7: Interpretation Review
Before you submit, we show you exactly what we understood, built only from your answers. Read it. If any section reads wrong, click Edit and fix the source answer. This is your last chance to correct a misread before the research runs against it. A thirty second review here saves you from a report that answers the wrong question.
Step 8: Research Plan and Submit
You will see the areas we are about to investigate, and a toggle to contribute your idea's verdict (anonymously, counts only, never your text) to the public Trends page and the weekly newsletter. Then submit.
Hope this helps. Corey, Founder
The short version
The report is a mirror of your brief. Give it specific customers, an honest status quo, a named riskiest assumption, and real constraints, and you will get back a verdict you can trust.
Ready? Start a validation.