The method
The business validation framework
Every Ventures Lens report follows the same fifteen-section framework. This page is that framework, in full — so you can see exactly how an idea gets judged before you run one, or borrow the structure and do it yourself.
Why a framework at all
Four rules the whole method stands on.
Structure beats enthusiasm
Founders are naturally biased toward their own idea. A fixed framework forces the awkward questions — who else does this, why would anyone switch, does the money work — instead of skipping to the fun parts.
Same questions, every idea
Every report answers the same fifteen sections in the same order. That's what makes two ideas comparable: you're not choosing between a good pitch and a bad one, but between two sets of answers to identical questions.
A score you can argue with
Six viability factors are each scored 0–100 with the reasoning written out, then weighted into one score. The verdict thresholds never move: 75+ is a go, 50–74 means refine, below 50 means pause.
End with a test, not a feeling
The framework closes with a four-week plan of specific experiments, each with a success signal. The point of validation isn't confidence — it's knowing what to check first.
The fifteen sections
Six stages, from the call to the next move.
01The call
VerdictViability score
The answer up front. Everything after this is the working.
02The problem
Problem & solutionMarket sizeCustomer personas
Is the pain real, is the market big enough, and who exactly feels it.
03The field
CompetitorsPositioning
Who's already solving it, where they're weak, and where you'd stand.
04The money
Business modelFinancials
How you'd charge, what it costs, and whether the unit economics close.
05The reality check
Go-to-marketRisksSWOT
How you'd actually reach buyers, and the honest list of what could sink it.
06The next move
MVP scopeWildcard30-day plan
The smallest thing worth building, one angle you hadn't considered, and what to do this month.
Full section list, in report order: Executive summary · Viability score · The problem · Market size · Buyer personas · Competitors · Positioning · Business model · Financials · Go-to-market · Risks · SWOT · MVP scope · Wildcard angle · 30-day action plan.
How scoring works
One score, fixed thresholds, no moving goalposts.
75–100
Go
The evidence holds together. Move to building and testing, in the order the plan lays out.
50–74
Refine
Something real is here, but a named weakness — usually the market or the money — needs work before it's worth a year.
0–49
Pause
The framework can't make the case. Better to know now than after the savings are gone.
Six factors feed the score — problem strength, market size, competition, business model, founder fit and timing — each shown with its own score and reasoning, so you can see exactly which one dragged the verdict down.
Use it yourself
Run the framework on your idea.
Describe your idea in a few sentences and the analyst fills in all fifteen sections — verdict, scores, competitors, financials, risks and the 30-day plan — usually in about a minute. Your first reports are free.