idea-validation
Help users de-risk new product bets by testing core assumptions, building low-fidelity prototypes, and gathering high-signal evidence before investing heavy engineering resources.
npx skills add RefoundAI/lenny-skills --skill idea-validation --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.
# Idea Validation Stop building things people don't want by moving from opinion to evidence-based development. Help the user with idea validation using insights from 31 guests and posts across Lenny's Podcast and Newsletter. ## How to Help 1. **Clarify the Core Hypothesis** - Help the user define the specific problem, target audience, and the most 'risky' assumptions using the Founding Hypothesis Scorecard. 2. **Select a Validation Path** - Guide the user through choosing between the 'Listening Path', 'Manual Path', or 'Self-Serve Path' based on their proximity to the problem. 3. **Design Low-Fidelity Experiments** - Recommend specific 'Wizard of Oz' or 'Fake Door' tests to simulate the solution without building a backend. 4. **Evaluate Signal Quality** - Help users distinguish between polite interest and real market pull by looking for financial commitment or high-effort usage. ## Core Principles ### First-Principles De-risking Bangaly Kaba: "Someone says, 'Hey, you know what? This would be great to build.' And you go pull data to go justify why that would be great to build. Call that identify, justify, execute. First you have to really understand from first principles what is act
- How to Help
- Core Principles
- First-Principles De-risking
- Maintaining Prototype Momentum
- Direct User Feedback Loops
- Workflow Compression
- Templates & Frameworks
- Questions to Help Users
- Common Mistakes to Flag
- Deep Dive
- Related Skills
What does the idea-validation skill do?
Help users de-risk new product bets by testing core assumptions, building low-fidelity prototypes, and gathering high-signal evidence before investing heavy engineering resources.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add RefoundAI/lenny-skills --skill idea-validation --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.