The Validation Score is a live 0–100 number that answers one question: how much real evidence supports building this?
What moves the score#
| Input | Why it counts |
|---|---|
| Problem quantified in dollars | Turns "people hate this" into a size you can act on |
| Customer interviews logged | Direct evidence of pain, objections, and willingness to pay |
| Community demand signals | Unprompted complaints from Hacker News and Reddit |
| Landing-page conversion | Strangers giving you their email is the strongest cheap signal |
| Competitor coverage | Shows whether the gap you're aiming at is actually open |
Reading the score#
- 0–30 — an idea, not a case. Keep talking to people.
- 31–60 — real signal in places, gaps elsewhere. The score breakdown tells you which input is starving.
- 61–100 — enough evidence to commit to a phased build.
What the score is not#
It is not a prediction of success and it does not reward activity. Ten interviews with the wrong customer will not move it the way three with the right one will.