Niche Scoring Template for First-Time Founders (Copy This)

Copy this. Adapt the names. Score this afternoon.

1. Spreadsheet Layout

Six columns: Niche, Reachability, Pain Frequency, Existing Spend, Differentiation, Builder-Fit. Add a Total column at the end.

Five rows, one per candidate niche.

2. Scoring Rubric

Reachability (1-10):

• 1-3: only via paid ads
• 4-6: scattered audience, hard to reach
• 7-8: clear channel (LinkedIn, niche community, subreddit)
• 9-10: clear channel + you already have presence there

Pain Frequency (1-10):

• 1-3: annual or rare
• 4-6: monthly
• 7-8: weekly
• 9-10: daily or near-daily

Existing Spend (1-10):

• 1-3: nothing exists, market education required
• 4-6: some adjacent tools exist, modest spend
• 7-8: clear adjacent vendors with $50-200/mo subscriptions
• 9-10: established category with multiple paid players

Differentiation (1-10):

• 1-3: cannot describe in one sentence
• 4-6: vague advantage (faster, simpler, cheaper)
• 7-8: specific mechanism for specific user
• 9-10: specific mechanism + alternatives provably cannot copy

Builder-Fit (1-10):

• 1-3: no advantage, just interested
• 4-6: some adjacent experience
• 7-8: existing audience, expertise, or network
• 9-10: lived experience plus existing audience

3. Decision Rule

Sum the five scores per niche. Highest wins. If the top two are within 3 points, pick the one where you scored higher on existing spend - it is the most predictive criterion.

4. Sanity Check (Per Top Candidate)

Write one paragraph each:

• Why this niche would work.
• Why it would not work.

If "why not" is more concrete, your score was wrong somewhere. Re-score honestly.

5. What Happens After

Schedule five problem interviews against the chosen niche this week. Niche scoring is permission to interview. Interviews are validation.