/ about
A second opinion on your startup idea, from the people who have already tried it
Most startup ideas have been tried, debated, or picked apart somewhere on Hacker News. Founders post launches, explain why they shut down, and argue about which markets are real. That record is one of the most honest sources of startup signal there is, but it is scattered across years of threads and almost impossible to search by meaning.
IdeaCheck makes it searchable. Describe your idea, and we find the discussions closest to it in meaning, not just in keywords. A language model reads them and scores your idea on market demand, technical complexity, distribution, and timing, then gives a clear verdict: PASS, PROMISING, or PASS ON. Every claim links back to the threads behind it.
28,080
Hacker News threads indexed
2020–2026
years of founder discussion
4
scores: market, technical, distribution, timing
1 free
evaluation when you sign up
What we believe
Evidence over opinion
Every verdict cites the Hacker News threads it is based on. You can open each one and read what founders and engineers actually said.
Honest, even when it stings
Most feedback on an early idea is polite. IdeaCheck is built to say PASS ON when similar ideas have struggled, and to explain why.
Your idea stays yours
Idea text is processed in memory to produce the verdict and is not written to our database. We store your account and diamond balance, nothing more.
A first filter, not the final word
A verdict is a fast way to find the weak spots before you spend months building. It does not replace talking to customers.
Who it's for
First-time founders deciding what to build, experienced founders pressure-testing a pivot, and anyone with a side project who wants to know whether it could be a business. IdeaCheck is built and run by an independent founder, and it is funded by the people who use it, not by advertising.
Get in touch
Questions, bugs, or a verdict you think is wrong? Email vikas.ideacheck@gmail.com. We read every message.