startup-ideation▌
refoundai/lenny-skills · updated Apr 8, 2026
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Generate and evaluate startup ideas using frameworks from product leaders.
- ›Guides users through understanding their background, information sources, and unique perspectives to identify differentiated ideas rooted in personal experience
- ›Applies the \"Why Now\" test to identify what has changed technologically, behaviorally, or infrastructurally to make an idea newly viable
- ›Flags common tarpit patterns and mistakes, including trend-chasing without specific problems, identical informati
Startup Ideation
Help the user generate and evaluate startup ideas using frameworks and insights from 2 product leaders.
How to Help
When the user asks for help with startup ideation:
- Understand their background - Ask about their personal experience, skills, and what problems they've encountered firsthand
- Explore information sources - Discuss what they read, who they talk to, and whether their information diet is differentiated
- Apply the Why Now test - Help them identify what has changed that makes this idea newly possible
- Identify tarpit risks - Flag common idea patterns that attract many founders but rarely succeed
Core Principles
Go off the beaten path
Dalton Caldwell: "Try to go more off the beaten path either from your personal experience." The best startup ideas come from unique personal experiences and perspectives that others don't have access to. Avoid starting from popular trends that everyone is chasing.
Ask what's newly possible
Ryan Hoover: "What new thing can you build today that couldn't be built yesterday?" Look for technology shifts (like AI or Web3), behavior shifts, or infrastructure changes that create new opportunities that weren't viable before.
Diversify your information diet
Build a unique perspective by consuming information from sources that most founders don't. If everyone reads the same articles and follows the same people, everyone will have the same ideas.
Avoid idea tarpits
Certain startup ideas are attractive to many founders but rarely succeed. Be skeptical of ideas in crowded spaces where hundreds of companies have already tried and failed.
Questions to Help Users
- "What problem have you personally experienced that frustrated you deeply?"
- "What do you know or have access to that most people don't?"
- "Why is this idea possible now when it wasn't possible two years ago?"
- "How many other startups are working on something similar, and why did they fail?"
- "What would have to be true for this to be a billion-dollar business?"
Common Mistakes to Flag
- Starting from trends instead of problems - Chasing hot topics like AI without a specific problem leads to undifferentiated products
- Identical information diet - Reading the same sources as every other founder produces the same ideas
- Ignoring the Why Now - Ideas without a clear reason they're newly possible often indicate missed timing
- Tarpit ideas - Certain idea categories attract founders repeatedly despite low success rates
Deep Dive
For all 2 insights from 2 guests, see references/guest-insights.md
Related Skills
- Measuring Product-Market Fit
- Defining Product Vision
- Working Backwards
- Startup Pivoting
How to use startup-ideation on Cursor
AI-first code editor with Composer
Prerequisites
Before installing skills in Cursor, ensure your development environment meets these requirements:
- ›Cursor installed and configured on your development machine
- ›Node.js version 16.0+ with npm package manager (verify with
node --version) - ›Active project directory or workspace where you want to add startup-ideation
Execute installation command
Execute the skills CLI command in your project's root directory to begin installation:
The skills CLI fetches startup-ideation from GitHub repository refoundai/lenny-skills and configures it for Cursor.
Select Cursor when prompted
The CLI will show a list of available agents. Use arrow keys to navigate and space to select Cursor:
Verify installation
Confirm successful installation by checking the skill directory location:
Reload or restart Cursor to activate startup-ideation. Access the skill through slash commands (e.g., /startup-ideation) or your agent's skill management interface.
Security & Verification Notice
We perform automated surface-level scans (Gen AI Scanner, Socket, Snyk) during installation. These checks detect common vulnerabilities but do not guarantee complete security. Always review skill source code and verify the publisher's reputation before production use.
Skills execute code in your development environment. Always verify the publisher's identity, review recent commits, and test in isolated environments before production deployment.
List & Monetize Your Skill
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Use Cases▌
User Story & Requirements Generation
Create detailed user stories, acceptance criteria, and feature specs
Example
Generate user stories for 'password reset feature' with acceptance criteria, edge cases, and test scenarios
Reduce spec writing time by 50%, ensure comprehensive coverage
Competitive Analysis
Research competitors, compare features, identify gaps
Example
Analyze 5 competitor products, create feature comparison matrix, suggest differentiation opportunities
Complete competitive research in 2 hours instead of 2 days
Roadmap Prioritization
Evaluate features using frameworks (RICE, ICE, Kano) and create prioritized backlogs
Example
Score 20 feature ideas using RICE framework, generate prioritized roadmap with rationale
Make data-driven prioritization decisions faster
Stakeholder Communication
Draft PRDs, status updates, and stakeholder presentations
Example
Create executive summary of Q3 roadmap, monthly progress report, feature launch announcement
Save 3-5 hours/week on communication overhead
Implementation Guide▌
Prerequisites
- ›Claude Desktop or compatible AI client
- ›Access to product documentation and roadmap tools (Jira, Notion, etc.)
- ›Understanding of product management frameworks (RICE, Jobs-to-be-Done, etc.)
- ›Stakeholder contact information and communication channels
Time Estimate
30-60 minutes to see productivity improvements
Installation Steps
- 1.Install product management skill
- 2.Start with user story generation for known feature
- 3.Progress to competitive analysis: research 2-3 competitors
- 4.Use for roadmap prioritization: apply RICE/ICE scoring
- 5.Draft stakeholder communications and refine based on feedback
- 6.Build template library for recurring PM tasks
- 7.Share effective prompts with product team
Common Pitfalls
- ⚠Not validating competitive research—verify facts before sharing
- ⚠Accepting user stories without involving engineering team
- ⚠Over-relying on frameworks without qualitative judgment
- ⚠Not customizing outputs to company culture and communication style
- ⚠Skipping stakeholder validation of generated requirements
Best Practices▌
✓ Do
- +Validate research and competitive analysis with real data
- +Collaborate with engineering when generating technical requirements
- +Customize frameworks and templates to your company context
- +Use skill for first drafts, refine with stakeholder input
- +Document successful prompt patterns for PM tasks
- +Combine AI efficiency with human judgment and intuition
✗ Don't
- −Don't publish competitive analysis without fact-checking
- −Don't finalize user stories without engineering review
- −Don't make prioritization decisions solely on AI scoring
- −Don't skip customer validation of generated requirements
- −Don't ignore company-specific context and culture
💡 Pro Tips
- ★Provide context: company goals, constraints, customer feedback
- ★Ask for alternatives: 'Show 3 ways to prioritize this roadmap'
- ★Request stakeholder-specific formatting: 'Executive summary vs. engineering spec'
- ★Use skill for 70% generation + 30% customization to company needs
When to Use This▌
✓ Use When
Use for user story writing, competitive research, roadmap prioritization, stakeholder communication, and PRD drafting. Best for reducing repetitive documentation and research work.
✗ Avoid When
Avoid for strategic product vision (requires deep customer empathy), pricing decisions (needs market and financial expertise), or when face-to-face customer discovery is more valuable than speed.
Learning Path▌
- 1Basic: user stories, feature specs, status updates
- 2Intermediate: competitive analysis, prioritization frameworks, PRDs
- 3Advanced: product strategy, go-to-market planning, OKR setting
- 4Expert: product vision, market positioning, business model innovation
Discussion
Product Hunt–style comments (not star reviews)- No comments yet — start the thread.
Ratings
4.6★★★★★52 reviews- ★★★★★Aanya Thompson· Dec 24, 2024
We added startup-ideation from the explainx registry; install was straightforward and the SKILL.md answered most questions upfront.
- ★★★★★Amelia Dixit· Dec 8, 2024
startup-ideation has been reliable in day-to-day use. Documentation quality is above average for community skills.
- ★★★★★Omar Sethi· Dec 8, 2024
startup-ideation fits our agent workflows well — practical, well scoped, and easy to wire into existing repos.
- ★★★★★Ren Robinson· Nov 27, 2024
startup-ideation fits our agent workflows well — practical, well scoped, and easy to wire into existing repos.
- ★★★★★Ava Verma· Nov 27, 2024
startup-ideation has been reliable in day-to-day use. Documentation quality is above average for community skills.
- ★★★★★Lucas Kim· Nov 15, 2024
Solid pick for teams standardizing on skills: startup-ideation is focused, and the summary matches what you get after install.
- ★★★★★Olivia Torres· Oct 18, 2024
We added startup-ideation from the explainx registry; install was straightforward and the SKILL.md answered most questions upfront.
- ★★★★★Ava Abbas· Oct 18, 2024
Solid pick for teams standardizing on skills: startup-ideation is focused, and the summary matches what you get after install.
- ★★★★★Ren Martin· Oct 6, 2024
startup-ideation has been reliable in day-to-day use. Documentation quality is above average for community skills.
- ★★★★★Isabella Ramirez· Sep 25, 2024
Useful defaults in startup-ideation — fewer surprises than typical one-off scripts, and it plays nicely with `npx skills` flows.
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