evaluating-startup-ideas
Help users distinguish between deceptive tarpit ideas and high-potential opportunities by applying rigorous frameworks for market timing, business math, and user demand.
npx skills add RefoundAI/lenny-skills --skill evaluating-startup-ideas --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# Evaluating Startup Ideas Systematically validate problem-solution fit, market timing, and business viability before you build. Help the user with evaluating startup ideas using insights from 21 guests and posts across Lenny's Podcast and Newsletter. ## How to Help 1. **Assess Problem Urgency** - Determine if you are solving a hair-on-fire problem or an incremental convenience. 2. **Analyze Market Timing** - Evaluate if there is a clear why now inflection point in technology, regulation, or behavior. 3. **Review Business Viability** - Scrutinize the underlying math to ensure a path to $100M in annual revenue. 4. **Validate via Experiments** - Guide the transition from brainstorming to manual testing before committing to code. ## Core Principles ### Seek unglamorous niches Andrew Wilkinson: "I think that's probably the most important thing in business is actually to find those niches where you can actually make real money because competition equals lower margin. The more competitors there are, the lower your prices have to be and the more competitive the business is ultimately." Identify uncrowded industries like pest control or government software where lack of competition allows
- How to Help
- Core Principles
- Seek unglamorous niches
- Prioritize autonomous outcomes
- Wait for external turning points
- Validate demand before writing code
- Look for polarizing signals
- Templates & Frameworks
- Questions to Help Users
- Common Mistakes to Flag
- Deep Dive
- Related Skills
What does the evaluating-startup-ideas skill do?
Help users distinguish between deceptive tarpit ideas and high-potential opportunities by applying rigorous frameworks for market timing, business math, and user demand.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add RefoundAI/lenny-skills --skill evaluating-startup-ideas --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From RefoundAI/lenny-skills, a repository with 1,215 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.