sales-skills/sales-ideaproof

IdeaProof Platform Help

IdeaProof (ideaproof.io) is an AI startup-idea validation and pre-launch suite — "test your idea in 120s." It scores an idea across 50+ criteria (a 100-point viability score + a GO/NO-GO verdict, TAM/SAM/SOM market sizing, competitor SWOT, risks) and then bundles the rest of a pre-launch kit: an investor-ready business plan, brand strategy (12 Jungian archetypes), logo/visual identity, pitch deck, and multi-platform ad creatives. It runs a multi-model ensemble (Claude, GPT, Gemini, Grok) with live web scraping, on a credit-based, no-subscription model (free 90 credits, then €19.99–99.99 packs; credits never expire). It's a fast idea-analysis tool and starter-asset generator — not a substitute for real demand validation — and it has no documented public API (a UI tool).

Step 1 — Gather context

If references/learnings.md exists, read it first for accumulated platform knowledge.

Ask only what you can't infer:

1. What do you want from IdeaProof?
   • A) Run an idea through it and interpret the viability score / GO-NO-GO verdict
   • B) Understand the credit system — free 90 credits, per-feature costs, which pack to buy
   • C) Use its downstream generators (business plan, brand, logo, pitch deck, ad creatives)
   • D) Automate or export the reports (API / integration reality)
2. What's the real question — "is this idea worth building?" or "how do I use this tool?" If it's the go/no-go decision, that's /sales-idea-validation (a score is not demand) — route in Step 2.

Skip-ahead: if the user wants the validate-before-building method or to compare validators across the market, that's a /sales-idea-validation question — route immediately.

Step 2 — Route or answer directly

| If the user's question is about… | Route to | |---|---| | The validate-before-building method, or the go/no-go decision itself | /sales-idea-validation {question} | | Comparing IdeaProof against other AI validators (Validator AI, WorthBuild, DimeADozen…) | /sales-idea-validation {question} | | Building the smoke-test / fake-door landing page to test real demand | /sales-funnel {question} | | Growing a pre-launch waitlist / capturing real demand | /sales-audience-growth {question} | | Turning the generated ad creatives into a real content/ad program | /sales-content {question} |

When routing, give the exact command: "This is a {domain} question — run: /sales-idea-validation {original question}"

Otherwise, answer IdeaProof-specific questions using Step 3.

Step 3 — IdeaProof platform reference

Read references/platform-guide.md for the full reference — the module lineup and what each produces, the credit costs per feature and the free-vs-paid pack split, how the viability score and GO/NO-GO verdict are built (and why they run high), the multi-model + live-scrape data pipeline, and the no-public-API automation reality.

Answer using only the relevant section — don't dump the full reference.

Step 4 — Actionable guidance

• Treat the viability score as a directional gut check, not demand — and know it runs high. The score is a multi-model LLM opinion (independent reviews put the median around ~78/100, i.e. it passes most ideas). Tell the user to keep the structured outputs (competitor SWOT, risks, market-size framing, positioning) to sharpen the pitch, and take the GO/NO-GO from real behavior — a smoke test or pre-sale — not from the score. Route the real test to /sales-idea-validation.
• Read the sourcing critically before trusting the numbers. IdeaProof markets "50+ authoritative sources" and "89% accuracy," but its own report footer has cited only ~5 sources and the accuracy claim has no published methodology. Tell the user to treat TAM/SAM/SOM and financial projections as AI estimates to verify, and to click through whatever citations exist rather than quoting the numbers as fact.
• Budget the credits against the whole journey, not one feature. Everything is credit-priced (validation ~40, market analysis ~100, business plan ~100, brand ~50, logo/visual ~150, marketing suite ~250, pitch deck ~120). The free 90 credits ≈ ~2 full validations, not the "4" the marketing math implies. Have the user decide which downstream assets they actually need before buying a pack — and note packs are one-time (no subscription) and credits never expire. Pricing/credit costs move, so tell the user to confirm current prices and per-feature credit costs on ideaproof.io (third-party quotes disagree) rather than treating these figures as fixed.
• Use it for starter assets, then replace them with tested ones. The generated brand, logo, pitch deck, and ad creatives are fast first drafts — fine to launch a smoke test with, but the copy and positioning that survive are the ones that convert. Push real ad/landing testing to /sales-content and /sales-funnel; don't treat the generated marketing suite as a finished GTM.
• There's no public API — don't plan an integration around it. If asked to automate or export, say plainly there's no documented public API, no webhooks, no Zapier/Make; it's a UI tool (the advertised OpenRouter integration is IdeaProof's internal model routing, not a developer API to build on). Give the user the two workable fallbacks: (1) download/copy the report manually from the app, and (2) use a tool built for programmatic validation if they need it scripted. Then point out the thing actually worth automating is the real signal (landing-page conversions), not the generated report — route that real test to /sales-idea-validation (decision) and /sales-funnel (build the page).

If you discover a gotcha or tip not in references/learnings.md, append it there with today's date.

Gotchas

Best-effort from research (2026-07) — IdeaProof's credit costs, packs, and feature lineup move; verify at ideaproof.io.

• The viability score runs high and is not demand. Independent reviews put the median near ~78/100 — a "feel-good" pass rate. A high score validates nothing; follow it with a real-behavior test.
• "50+ sources / 89% accuracy" is marketing, not a verified benchmark. The report footer has shown only ~5 sources and there's no published accuracy methodology — treat market sizing as AI estimates.
• Free-tier math is misleading. 90 free credits ≈ ~2 full validations, not the "4" implied; each downstream asset (plan, brand, logo, pitch deck, marketing suite) costs more credits on top.
• "Six jobs, none deep." Doing validation + plan + brand + logo + ads means less depth on any one; the validation itself is shallower than a validation-only tool. Use it for breadth, verify depth.
• No documented public API, no webhooks, no Zapier/Make. It's a web tool — you can't script or export it programmatically; copy/download outputs manually.
• Credit-based, not a subscription. You buy packs; credits never expire — but there's no monthly plan, so model cost as "how many assets will I generate," not a recurring fee.

Related skills

• /sales-idea-validation — The tool-agnostic validate-before-building method + the full validator landscape (use this to actually decide build-or-not; a score is not demand)
• /sales-validator-ai — Validator AI platform help (a dedicated free AI idea validator — the score-and-report sibling)
• /sales-funnel — Build the smoke-test / fake-door landing page the real demand test runs on
• /sales-audience-growth — Grow a pre-launch waitlist and capture real demand
• /sales-content — Turn the generated ad creatives into a real content/ad program
• /sales-do — Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill. Install: npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-do -a claude-code

Examples

Example 1: "IdeaProof gave my idea 82/100 — should I build it?"

User says: "IdeaProof scored my idea 82 and said GO. Is it validated?" Skill does: Explains the score is a multi-model LLM opinion that runs high (median ~78/100, so a GO is common) and validates nothing on its own. Tells the user to keep the competitor SWOT, risks, and positioning to sharpen the pitch, then route the real go/no-go to /sales-idea-validation — a smoke test or pre-sale where a stranger takes an action — rather than trusting the score. Result: The founder gets real demand signal before building, using IdeaProof's structure, not its verdict.

Example 2: How do the credits and free tier actually work?

User says: "IdeaProof says 90 free credits = 4 validations, but I ran out fast. What's going on and which pack should I buy?" Skill does: Breaks down the per-feature credit costs (validation ~40, market ~100, plan ~100, brand ~50, logo ~150, marketing suite ~250, pitch deck ~120), so 90 credits ≈ ~2 full validations, not 4. Advises deciding which downstream assets are actually needed before buying, and notes packs are one-time (no subscription) with credits that never expire — confirm current prices on ideaproof.io. Result: The user picks a pack sized to what they'll generate instead of overbuying.

Example 3: Can I export or automate IdeaProof reports? (developer/automation)

User says: "I want to run 25 ideas through IdeaProof and pull the reports into a spreadsheet via API." Skill does: States plainly there's no documented public API, no webhooks, no Zapier/Make — it's a UI tool, so there's no supported way to batch or export programmatically. Suggests downloading/copying reports manually or using a tool built for programmatic validation, and notes the thing worth automating is a real demand signal (landing-page conversions), not a generated report — pointing to /sales-idea-validation. Result: The user avoids building on a non-existent API and picks a workable path.

Troubleshooting

The viability score seems inflated / everything I test passes

Symptom: Multiple ideas all score in the high 70s–80s with a GO verdict. Cause: The score is a multi-model LLM opinion that trends optimistic (independent reviews put the median near ~78/100); it's a directional gut check, not evidence of demand. Solution: Stop treating the score as the decision. Keep the structured outputs (competitors, risks, positioning) and run a real demand test — smoke test or pre-sale — via /sales-idea-validation.

The market-size / financial numbers don't have sources

Symptom: TAM/SAM/SOM and projections are stated with few or no clickable citations. Cause: IdeaProof markets "50+ sources" but reports have cited only ~5, and figures are largely AI-generated estimates. Solution: Treat the numbers as hypotheses to verify against primary sources (Statista, Crunchbase, your own bottom-up math) before quoting them in a plan or pitch.

Ran out of free credits faster than expected

Symptom: The 90 free credits disappeared after ~2 runs despite "4 validations" marketing. Cause: Each feature is credit-priced and a full journey (validation + market + plan + assets) costs far more than one validation; 90 credits ≈ ~2 full validations. Solution: Decide which downstream assets you actually need before spending, and size any paid pack to that. Packs are one-time and credits never expire — confirm current pricing on ideaproof.io.

Looking for an API or export/automation

Symptom: Want to script IdeaProof or pull reports into another system. Cause: IdeaProof has no documented public API, webhooks, or iPaaS connectors; it's a web tool. Solution: Download/copy outputs manually or use a tool intended for programmatic use; automate a real demand signal (landing-page analytics) instead. See /sales-idea-validation.