How many half-baked ideas are sitting in your notebook, scattered throughout the office on Post-It Notes or buried in a Google Doc titled “random stuff”, all waiting for “someday”?
Before you pour time or money into a new idea, let AI stress-test it.
AI chatbot tools like Gemini, Claude, ChatGPT, or Perplexity can give you a quick reality check, without asking your mom (who you know will tell you it is a great idea, no matter how awful it actually is).
Start Simple
Better answers come from better prompts and questions:
- “List 3 reasons this idea might fail and 3 ways to fix those weaknesses [IDEA].”
- “What kind of audience would be most interested in this? [IDEA]”
- “Write a short pros-and-cons list for [IDEA] as if you’re my most skeptical customer.”
- “Act as a skeptical investor who has seen thousands of failed startups. Analyze this business idea and tell me why it will fail. Be direct, critical, and avoid encouragement unless it’s earned. [IDEA]”
- “List all the assumptions this business idea depends on. For each one, explain how likely it is to be wrong and what would happen if it fails. [IDEA]”
- “Walk me through the hardest parts of executing this idea in the real world—technical, operational, financial, and marketing challenges. [IDEA]”
Prompt Framework Approach
If you want some more structure, try a prompt framework.
Choose one that fits your workflow:
R.A.C.E. (Role, Action, Context, Expectation):
Prompt example:
- Role: “You're my idea coach.”
- Action: “Evaluate this concept and list 3 risks.”
- Context: “The idea is a virtual workshop about eco-friendly habits for small teams who tend to goats.”
- Expectation: “Provide practical fixes for each risk and a pros-and-cons summary.”
T.A.G. (Task, Action, Goal):
Prompt example:
- Task: “Assess whether this project idea is viable.”
- Action: “Explain what could go wrong and suggest how to test it cheaply.”
- Goal: “Help me decide in the next week whether it’s worth pursuing.”
Don’t stop at one answer: Ask follow-up questions.
“Great! What’s a micro test we could run and how would we measure interest in 3 ideas?”
AI will never guarantee your success, but it can help you to see the gaps and blind spots.