Idea Validator
Test a product idea against our core principles before investing time building it.
What's the idea?
Give it a name and a brief description. This helps frame the questions that follow.
Question 1 of 5
Does it do one thing simply and honestly?
No feature creep, no Swiss Army knives, no "it also does..."
Question 2 of 5
Is there already a good one?
If something good already exists, we'd rather use it than rebuild it.
Follow-up
Can you make it meaningfully better?
Simpler, more honest, no accounts, no subscriptions, works offline, costs less or free.
Question 3 of 5
Could someone else describe it in a single sentence?
If it takes a paragraph to explain, it's not clear enough yet.
Question 4 of 5
Does it depend on anything that could break?
APIs, third-party services, libraries that need updates, external databases...
Question 5 of 5
Can it run for a year without touching it?
No servers to maintain, no user data to process, no support tickets to answer.
Didn't pass — Question 1
It's doing too much.
Products that try to do too much are annoying. Complexity makes them harder to use, harder to maintain, and easier to abandon. We want to build things people actually use.
Help me simplify this idea to do just one thing. What's the single core problem we're solving, and what can we cut out to focus only on that? Simple means no extra features or options—just the essential functionality.
Didn't pass — Question 2
Something good already exists.
Good Enough means solving real gaps, not rebuilding what works. If you can't articulate why yours would be meaningfully better, simpler, or more honest, it's not worth the effort.
Something like this already exists. Help me evaluate whether there's still a reason to build it through the Good Enough lens: Could we make it meaningfully simpler? More honest — no dark patterns, no upsells, no accounts or subscriptions? Could it work offline forever with no dependencies? Could we charge less or make it free? If none of those apply, help me redirect toward a different idea that fills an actual gap.
Didn't pass — Question 3
It's not clear enough yet.
If we can't explain it simply, it probably isn't simple enough. That's a sign the idea needs refinement before it's ready.
Help me simplify this so any user could easily explain what it does to a friend in a single sentence. What's the core functionality, and what can we cut out to make that crystal clear?
Didn't pass — Question 4
Dependencies suck.
Dependencies that need regular updates mean we're constantly patching, fixing, and maintaining. When a service changes or breaks, we're stuck updating the app just to keep it functional. We don't want to build things that demand that kind of ongoing intervention.
Help me redesign this without dependencies. The goal is to build something that doesn't require us to maintain servers, infrastructure, or services of any kind—whether external or internal. Is there a simpler version of this idea that stands completely on its own?
Didn't pass — Question 5
It would need ongoing attention.
Ongoing maintenance, server costs, processing user data, and active support drain time and money indefinitely. That's not sustainable. We want to build things that pay for themselves and won't demand constant attention. As we grow, having even one app that requires maintenance creates compounding overhead and will prevent us from creating the next idea.
Help me redesign this so we can build it once, ship it, and never touch it again. What's the simplest version that will work for years without needing updates, server maintenance, or ongoing support from us?
Good Enough.
Your idea passed all five gut checks. Fill out the form below and submit it for the team to review.
Submitted.
Your idea has been sent to the Good Enough team for review. We'll take a look and get back to you.