sales-skills/sales-ideascore

IdeaScore Platform Help

IdeaScore (ideascore.co — not the unrelated ideascore.ai TEDx-talk tool) is an AI product-idea validation tool. You describe a concept, run the AI analysis, and get a structured, decision-ready report — a Signal Scan (a quick visual read of tension and upside), a 0-100 Scoring Grade with a letter grade (sample: 68/100 = C) across problem urgency, competitive room, and execution fit, a market-analysis and competitor-landscape section, a target-audience read, and a one-line next action (interview, prototype, reposition, or a faster no). Its distinguishing trait in a crowded field is that the output is lean and terse — "decision-ready, not note-heavy" — and priced on cheap prepaid credits (1 free report, then bulk packs, no subscription), built to triage many ideas fast (its own pitch targets studios/advisors filtering client concepts). It's a fast structured second opinion — not a substitute for real demand validation — and it has no public API (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 IdeaScore?
   • A) Run an idea through it and interpret the report — Signal Scan, Scoring Grade / letter grade, or a section
   • B) Understand the prepaid-credit pricing (1 free report → bulk packs, no subscription) and the per-report math
   • C) Use the one-line next-action verdict (interview / prototype / reposition / stop)
   • D) Automate or export programmatically (API 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.
3. Are you triaging one idea or many? IdeaScore's cheap bulk credits suit filtering many concepts; cover the per-report economics in Step 4.

Skip-ahead: if the user wants the validate-before-building method or to compare validators across the market, route to /sales-idea-validation 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 IdeaScore against other validators (IdeaCheck, IdeaProof, Validator AI, Informly…) | /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 report's market/audience sections into a real content program | /sales-content {question} |

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

Otherwise, answer IdeaScore-specific questions using Step 3.

Step 3 — IdeaScore platform reference

Read references/platform-guide.md for the full reference — the report anatomy (Signal Scan, the 0-100 Scoring Grade + letter grade, the three scoring dimensions, market/competitor/audience sections, the next-action verdict), the prepaid-credit model (1 free report → bulk packs, 1 credit = 1 report, no subscription) and the per-report math, why the terse "decision-ready" output suits triage, why an AI score reads directional, 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 Scoring Grade and letter grade as a directional gut check, not demand. The whole report is an LLM opinion generated from a short concept description — the 0-100 grade, the market sizing, and the competitor set are AI estimates, not measured demand. Tell the user to keep the structured outputs (Signal Scan tension/upside, competitor landscape, target audience, the flagged risks) to sharpen the pitch, and take the go/no-go from real behavior — a smoke test or pre-sale — not from the grade. Route the real test to /sales-idea-validation.
• Use the terse "decision-ready" output as a triage filter, not a deep report. IdeaScore is deliberately lean — that's the point: it's built to filter many ideas fast, not to produce a 75-page dossier (contrast /sales-informly) or a seven-module export (contrast /sales-ideacheck). If the user needs deep sourcing/citations, IdeaScore isn't it — say so and point to a citation-first validator via /sales-idea-validation. If they're screening a batch of concepts cheaply, it fits.
• Do the per-report math on the prepaid credits. It's 1 free report, then prepaid credit packs, no subscription — 1 credit = 1 report (bulk packs cut the per-report cost). Best-effort at research: 5 for ~$19, 20 for ~$59, 50 for ~$99 (per-report ~$3.80 → ~$1.98). Always flag exact prices as best-effort and tell the user to confirm current pricing on ideascore.co — the numbers move. There's no monthly plan, so the choice is only which pack, sized to how many ideas you'll run.
• Take the next-action verdict at face value only for direction. The one-line action (interview / prototype / reposition / a faster no) is a useful nudge, but "interview" and "prototype" both mean go get real evidence — treat a "stop" as a cheap early filter and any "go" as a prompt to run the real demand test, not permission to build.
• There's no public API — don't plan an integration around it. If asked to automate, batch, or pipe reports elsewhere, say plainly there's no documented public API, no webhooks, no Zapier/Make, no MCP, and no documented export format. The only way to get report data out is manually from the browser (read/copy/screenshot the sections) — there is no supported programmatic or batch path. The thing worth automating is the real signal (landing-page conversions), not the generated grade — route that to /sales-idea-validation and /sales-funnel.

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) — IdeaScore's pricing, credit terms, and report sections move; verify at ideascore.co.

• Right domain: ideascore.co. The .co is the AI product-idea validator; ideascore.ai is an unrelated "is your idea TEDx-ready?" speaking tool — don't conflate them.
• The Scoring Grade is an AI opinion, not demand. A 0-100 grade + letter grade generated from a short description validates nothing on its own — follow it with a real-behavior test (smoke test / pre-sale).
• Terse by design — it's a triage filter, not a deep report. "Decision-ready, not note-heavy" means thin sourcing; don't expect citations or a 75-page dossier. Use it to screen many ideas, not to settle one.
• Market-size / competitor numbers are AI estimates. Verify any figure against primary sources before quoting it; the competitor landscape can miss real incumbents or list irrelevant giants.
• Prepaid credits, no subscription — 1 credit = 1 report. The 1 free report is one-shot; re-running a pivoted idea spends another credit. Buy the pack sized to how many ideas you'll actually run.
• No public API, no webhooks, no Zapier/Make/MCP. It's a UI tool; there's no supported way to script, batch, or export programmatically — the report lives in the browser.
• Niche indie tool, thin independent review presence. Few third-party reviews — weigh marketing claims (scoring dimensions, per-report savings) accordingly and confirm the current feature set live.

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-ideacheck — IdeaCheck platform help (the closest sibling — a seven-module report exportable to PDF/Word/Excel with three co-existing pricing models; contrast IdeaCheck's fuller report against IdeaScore's lean, triage-oriented output)
• /sales-informly — Informly platform help (the opposite end — one idea → a 75+ page report; contrast against IdeaScore's deliberately terse "decision-ready" output)
• /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 report's market/audience sections 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: "IdeaScore graded my idea 68/100 (a C) — should I build it?"

User says: "IdeaScore gave my idea a 68 out of 100 and a letter grade of C. Is that a go?" Skill does: Explains the 0-100 Scoring Grade and letter grade are an LLM opinion generated from a short description — the grade, market sizing, and competitor set are AI estimates, not demand. Tells the user to keep the structured parts (Signal Scan tension/upside, competitor landscape, target audience, risks) 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 grade. Result: The founder earns a real demand signal before building, using IdeaScore's structure, not its grade.

Example 2: Cheapest way to screen a batch of ideas

User says: "I've got 15 ideas to filter down. IdeaScore has a free report and some credit packs — how does the pricing work and is it the right tool?" Skill does: Explains IdeaScore is prepaid credits, no subscription — 1 free report, then bulk packs, 1 credit = 1 report (best-effort ~5/$19, ~20/$59, ~50/$99; ~$3.80 → ~$1.98 per report), so buy the pack sized to the batch. Notes its terse "decision-ready" output is built for exactly this — fast triage of many concepts — and flags the prices as best-effort to confirm on ideascore.co. Adds that the grades are AI estimates: use them to rank and shortlist, then run a real demand test on the survivors via /sales-idea-validation. Result: The user prices the right pack and uses IdeaScore to shortlist, not to decide.

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

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

Troubleshooting

The grade feels generous / it never really tells me to stop

Symptom: The Scoring Grade and next action read encouraging even for a weak idea. Cause: The report is a short-prompt LLM output — it pattern-matches to plausible-sounding encouragement and can invent supporting "facts" (market size, demand). Solution: Stop treating the grade as the decision. Keep the structured outputs (Signal Scan, competitor landscape, target audience, risks) and run a real demand test — smoke test or pre-sale — via /sales-idea-validation. Treat a "stop"/"reposition" verdict as a cheap early filter, not the go/no-go.

I used my free report and want to validate more ideas

Symptom: Expected ongoing access; a second idea (or a re-run after a pivot) asks for a credit. Cause: 1 credit = 1 report, and there's no subscription — the free report is a single shot. Solution: Buy a prepaid pack sized to how many ideas you'll run (bulk packs cut the per-report cost). Finalize each idea's framing before spending a credit so you don't burn one on thin input. Confirm current prices on ideascore.co.

I want an API or a way to export/automate

Symptom: Want to script IdeaScore or pull reports into another system. Cause: IdeaScore has no documented public API, webhooks, or iPaaS connectors; it's a web tool. Solution: There's no supported programmatic path — the report is used in the browser. Use a tool intended for programmatic use if you need a pipeline, and automate a real demand signal (landing-page analytics) instead. See /sales-idea-validation.