Idea Stress Test

A pressure-test for an unvalidated idea before any building begins. Six forcing questions, asked one at a time, that surface hidden assumptions, refuse polite agreement, and convert vague conviction into a small, falsifiable next step.

Why this pack exists

Most ideas die from unexamined assumptions, not from bad execution. When a builder pitches an idea — to a friend, a partner, an AI assistant — the default response is some version of "interesting!" That politeness is the most expensive thing in early-stage product work. It lets bad ideas survive long enough to consume months of building.

This pack replaces the polite mirror with a structured interrogation. The six questions are sequenced so each one closes off a common escape route: vague users, hypothetical workarounds, missing "why now," unexamined beliefs, optimism bias, and the urge to start coding instead of testing.

Core idea

Specificity is the evidence of understanding. A builder who can name one real person, one real moment, and one real workaround has done the work. A builder who speaks in plurals and abstractions has not. Every question in this pack pushes relentlessly toward the singular and concrete.

Who this is for

Anyone holding an idea that has not yet met reality — solo builders, side-project starters, founders early in formation, internal product owners pitching a new initiative. Not for products that already have paying customers. Not for technical implementation questions. Not for emotional support sessions.

When to use it

Load this pack when the user signals an unvalidated idea: "I'm thinking about building...", "is this worth doing?", "what do you think of this?", or any pitch of a half-formed concept.

Do not load when there are already paying customers, when the question is about implementation, when the user is venting, when the decision is irreversible, or when this same idea has been stress-tested in a recent session.

Expected duration

20–40 minutes of back-and-forth. Faster usually means worse. The output is a written diagnostic with a single verdict: GO, VERIFY, RECONSIDER, or KILL — plus a 7-day falsifiable test.