Outgrowing v1 Idea Filters as a Technical Founder

v1 filters get you to one shipped product. v2 filters are different.

What v1 Filters For

• Reachability with no audience.
• Strict named buyers.
• Adjacent paying spend.
• Weekly pain.

What v2 Filters For

• Whether existing infra makes the build cheap.
• Whether your existing audience wants it.
• Whether the new bet protects your current ARR.
• Whether you have a customer co-developer.

Common Trap

You re-use v1 filters and accidentally kill v2-style ideas because they fail F1 ("50 reachable") even though your audience would love them. Switch the lens at the right time.