A No-Hype Take on Idea Filters for First-Time Founders

Honest framing.

What It Is

A 15-minute exercise. Four binary questions. Catches obviously bad ideas before you build.

What It Is Not

• A predictor of which idea will succeed.
• A substitute for customer interviews.
• An excuse to delay shipping.
• A repeatable monthly system.

What It Buys You

Eliminates 70-80 percent of bad ideas in 15 minutes. Survivors still need interviews. Interviews still need shipping. The filter is the cheapest cut, not the only cut.

Honest Expectation

You will still pick wrong sometimes. Filters reduce the rate, not to zero.