Idea Capture
Strip the selected opportunity to fundamentals. What must be true for this to work?
Business Alignment
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Selected opportunity (from SCAN) | [cell description] |
| Why this one over the other two? | [rationale] |
| What conviction level is this selection? | HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW / NONE |
First Principles
What must be true? Strip away assumptions until only irreducible requirements remain.
Minimum 3 rows. Each principle needs a test — if you can't test it, it's an opinion.
| # | Principle | Must Be True | Test | Result | Conviction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [what the world requires] | [how to verify] | [pass/fail/untested] | ||
| 2 | |||||
| 3 | |||||
| 4 |
Assumptions to Kill
What would guarantee failure? Invert each principle.
| Assumption | How It Kills | How to Detect Early | Can You Survive It? |
|---|---|---|---|
| [assumption 1] | [failure mechanism] | [leading indicator] | YES / NO / MAYBE |
| [assumption 2] | |||
| [assumption 3] |
Capture Protocol
Six fields. All required. No field left as "TBD."
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | [venture name — 2 words max] |
| Target User | [who, specifically — role + context] |
| Friction Point | [what wastes their time/money/energy] |
| Change Mechanism | [what you do differently] |
| 7-Day Test | [what could you validate in one week] |
| JTBD Statement | When [situation], I want to [motivation], so I can [outcome] |
JTBD Format
The JTBD must follow this structure exactly:
When [struggling moment + context], I want to [capability — one verb phrase], so I can [measurable outcome].
Bad: "When running a business, I want better tools, so I can succeed." Good: "When preparing a proposal for a $50K contract, I want to produce a one-pager with unit economics in under an hour, so I can respond before the competitor does."
Five Questions
Before proceeding, answer these. If you can't, the idea isn't captured yet.
| # | Question | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Who has this problem the worst? | [specific person/role] |
| 2 | What do they do today instead? | [current workaround] |
| 3 | Why hasn't someone solved this already? | [barrier] |
| 4 | What would make them switch to you? | [trigger event] |
| 5 | How would you know in 7 days if this is real? | [observable signal] |
Sentence Test
"[Target user] currently wastes [specific resource] on [friction] because [root cause]. We [change mechanism] so they can [outcome] — testable in [7-day test]."
Questions
If you can fill the capture protocol but can't fill the five questions, which gap reveals that the idea is a solution looking for a problem?
- Is the 7-day test something you'd actually run tomorrow — or is it something you'd procrastinate on?
- Does the JTBD describe a struggling moment you've witnessed, or one you've imagined?
- What's the difference between the friction point and the change mechanism — and which one are you more excited about?