Idea Filter Examples Worth Stealing

Three sanitized examples to lift the pattern from.

Example 1: AI Side Project

• Started with 22 ideas, mostly capability-led ("summarize X", "generate Y").
• Filter 1 (reachability) killed 14: most were generic developer audiences.
• Filter 2 (adjacent spend) killed 5 more.
• Survivors: a niche legal-research tool. Customers were already paying $50/month for tools nearby.

Example 2: Freelancer Tool

• Started with 18 ideas around freelancer workflows.
• Filter 3 (weekly pain) killed most: invoicing pain is monthly, project pain is bursty.
• Survivor: client communication recap. Weekly. Painful. Already paid via Loom workarounds.

Example 3: Niche SaaS

• Started with 30 ideas across verticals.
• Filter 4 (three named buyers) killed 26 instantly.
• Survivors all had three real names because the founder had distribution there.

What to Steal

The bias toward strict no. Specific named buyers. Filters that kill 80 percent of the list, not 30.