# Startup idea validator: score the evidence behind your idea

A startup idea validator scores the evidence behind your idea, and this idea validation scorecard does it with six questions about what customers have actually done. Each answer gets a level from 0 to 3, weighted by importance and added to a total out of 100. You get the score, your weakest areas and the next test to run.

Use it free, with no signup, at https://getlaunchlist.com/tools/idea-validation-scorecard. Updated 2026-10-15.

## What you enter

- **How often does the problem occur?**: How frequently the people you talk to run into the problem, from no evidence to frequent and recent.
- **Who has the problem?**: How specific and well-evidenced your audience is, from a guess to people you have confirmed.
- **What do customers do today?**: The workarounds or tools people use now, from none known to ones you have observed.
- **What evidence supports willingness to pay?**: What you have seen about payment, from nothing to actual payments.
- **What have people committed so far?**: What people have done for your idea, from nothing to paid commitments.
- **Can you reach more people like them?**: Whether you have a way to reach more of the same customers.

## How it works

This is LaunchList's own evidence rubric. It is not a statistically validated predictor of startup success or a recommendation to build, pivot, or invest. No AI is used. The same answers give the same result, computed in your browser.

Each answer receives a level from 0 to 3 in the order shown. The weights are problem frequency: 15, audience evidence: 20, workarounds: 15, willingness to pay: 20, commitments: 20, and reach: 10.

- **Points for an area = weight × level ÷ 3.**
- **Score = the points of all six areas added up**, rounded once for a total out of 100.

The weights express our judgment that observed customer behavior and commitments deserve attention. They are not research-derived coefficients. Payment and commitment can describe the same event, so this is a checklist with overlap, not six independent measurements.

Next steps appear for every area below level 3, ordered by lowest level first, then highest weight. Answer conservatively and record the evidence separately. Frequency alone does not prove urgency; signups do not prove willingness to pay. There is no passing score. Compare your answers over time as you collect evidence.

## Frequently asked questions

### How do I validate a startup idea?

Pick a specific customer group, ask about recent problems and current workarounds, and test a concrete offer. Record what people do after the conversation. Use the scorecard to find missing evidence and choose a test, rather than to declare the idea validated.

### What is a good idea validation score?

There is no validated cutoff. A higher score means your selected answers contain more behavioral evidence under this rubric. It does not establish market size, profitability, product quality, or your chance of success.

### Do waitlist signups prove people will pay?

No. Signing up shows interest in hearing more. A price-specific agreement is a different signal, and an actual payment is stronger evidence of willingness to pay. Even paid preorders do not prove customers will keep using a product.

### Does this startup idea validator use AI?

No. It applies a fixed scoring rubric to your answers immediately. It does not research your market, verify your claims, or send your answers to an AI service.

### Can I use this before I have customers?

Yes. Select the answers that reflect what you know today, including no evidence yet. A low score identifies untested assumptions. It is not a verdict that your idea is bad.

## Glossary terms

- [Pre-launch waitlist](https://getlaunchlist.com/glossary/pre-launch-waitlist.md)

## Related tools

- [TAM SAM SOM calculator](https://getlaunchlist.com/tools/tam-calculator.md): Size your market bottom-up: customers you could sell to, times what each pays a year.
- [Waitlist benchmark](https://getlaunchlist.com/tools/waitlist-benchmark.md): Compare your referral share, sharers and confirmation rate with real LaunchList waitlists of your size.
- [Pre-launch MRR calculator](https://getlaunchlist.com/tools/prelaunch-mrr-projector.md): Project launch-day MRR and the first year of revenue from your waitlist, price and churn.