Startup idea validation

Pressure-test a startup idea before you build anything

The first thing to test in a startup idea is whether people feel the problem strongly enough. The product comes later. SellTo.us shows your idea to thousands of AI-simulated potential customers built for the audience you choose, and reports who is interested, who isn’t and the reasons they give. You don’t need a product, a website or a price yet. It is a fast way to find your riskiest assumptions, not proof that the business will work.

Test Your Idea for Free1,000 AI-simulated participants · no card needed · free if eligible

When it helps

How a test works

1. Describe the idea in plain words. What it does, who it’s for and, if you know it, how it would make money. Choose Startup idea, the country and the kinds of customers you’re aiming at.
2. The audience is built. An AI model splits it into groups (8, 25 or 100 depending on test size) with ages, jobs, budgets and habits, then our code creates individual simulated people from those groups.
3. Each one answers. Interested, maybe or not interested, with a short reason, for every version you entered. Interested means they have this need and would sign up for, try or pay for it if it existed.
4. The report is counted and checked. Percentages are counted by code, and the written parts are checked against those numbers. See the methodology.

What you get

Every report includes the share of simulated potential customers in each answer, results by group, the main reasons for and against, labeled quotes, ideas to test next and the claims in your description that need evidence. Larger tests compare several versions, add an image vote and an ad targeting guide, and at 100,000 add results by city. Monthly plans give 10 tests a month from $49.

For startup ideas the report concentrates on the customer problem: whether people recognize it, how they deal with it today, the riskiest assumptions behind the idea and a price or business model worth testing next (marked as a hypothesis, or left out if it’s too early to say).

Reading the result well

• “Not interested” is useful. The reasons tell you whether the problem is weak, the solution is unclear or people already have something that works.
• Look for one strong group. A small group with a sharp need can be a better start than lukewarm interest everywhere.
• Separate the problem from the pitch. If one wording does much better, test the wording and the idea separately before you conclude the idea is better.

What it can’t tell you

• Interest isn’t demand. Simulated people saying they’re interested shows what to check with real people, not that anyone will pay.
• It can’t judge execution. Team, timing, distribution, competition and cost of acquiring customers decide most outcomes, and none of them are tested here.
• No accuracy is claimed. Results haven’t been measured against real sales, and each test is run once, so how much the numbers would move on another run isn’t measured. More on the limits.
• Your claims aren’t checked. Market sizes, savings or results in your description are listed as yours to verify.

Then check it with real people

1. Talk to 5–10 people from the most interested group about the problem before you pitch the idea: how they handle it today and what it costs them.
2. Put up a simple landing page or waitlist and send a little traffic from that group. Count real sign-ups, not likes.
3. If people sign up, ask a few for a small commitment, such as a pre-order or a paid pilot.

Example: our startup sample report tests a made-up idea for neighbors sharing dog walks.

Related: App idea testing · Service idea testing · AI product concept testing · AI focus groups · Ad concept testing · Full methodology